Harry Potter and the Master of Shadows
by Rei-chan689
Summary: When Harry Potter ran away from his aunt and uncle's house after blowing up his aunt, he wasn't expecting to run into someone from an alternate universe. But then again, he never expected to be a wizard either.
1. Chapter 1: An Unexpected Encounter

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or any elements belonging the the Harry Potter series. All Harry Potter related content is the sole property of J.K. Rowling. Any OCs and unfamiliar concepts are mine.

**For a more extensive explanation of the OC's in this story please read the Author's note at the end. This story will not contain any romance between Harry Potter characters and my original characters. This story will center on friendship/fantasy/adventure.**

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><p><strong>Chapter One: An Unexpected Encounter<br>**

Summer had not been fun for Harry Potter, not that it ever was. Every year, he had to endure life at Number Four Privet Drive with The Dursley's who were the only family he had left. Unfortunately, they weren't very fond of Harry, not even his Aunt Petunia who was his mother's sister.

She was a nosy woman with a horse-like face and a long neck that came in useful for her hobby, spying on the neighbors. Aunt Petunia took pride in three things, her family(excluding her nephew and sister, of course), her home and the fact that she knew more about the neighbors' lives and troubles than was necessarily healthy.

It only stood to reason that the rest of her family were not very pleasant either. Uncle Vernon was a large man, very much like a walrus, strict and with a 'healthy' hatred for all that was magic or required imagination. It was a good thing his son, Dudley, had no imagination whatsoever. Though that wasn't the only thing he lacked in the brain department. He more than made up for it in size though, and Harry still wondered when he would become big enough that they had to widen the doors.

In stark contrast with his so called family, Harry Potter was a scrawny thirteen year-old boy, too small for his age and too thin to wear the massive hand-me-downs from Dudley he received. He was normal enough at first glance, but it was only when you looked closer, something few ever did, that you noticed the brilliant green eyes hidden behind round wire glasses and the peculiar lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead, barely visible beneath messy dark hair that stuck out at odd angles. The scar was the only reminder of his past, proof that he was the Boy-Who-Lived, the only known survivor of the killing curse launched by the dark wizard, Voldemort himself.

It was the same curse that had killed his parents when he was only a year old, resulting in him being sent to live with the Dursleys. It wasn't something Harry liked to dwell on. That was why he was happy to find that his friends from Hogwarts, the magical school he attended, had sent him presents for his birthday. They had helped to distract him during the long weeks in Surrey, especially after his Aunt Marge, who wasn't really his aunt, had arrived for a visit.

She was even more unpleasant than the rest of the Dursleys put together. Marge was as large as her brother, loud and rude. She liked nothing better than to spoil Dudley senseless while pointing out Harry's faults, it was like some kind of sick hobby of hers and it drove Harry crazy. It was only the promise of having a permission slip signed that kept him from fighting back. Vernon had agreed to sing the slip allowing him to visit Hogsmeade, the wizarding village near Hogwarts, if he behaved while his sister was staying with them.

Harry felt proud for having put up with Marge for as long as he had. He had ignored her harsh comments about his appearance, uselessness and ungrateful ways for a week, staying strong and determined to not let her get to him. He was only too glad when the last evening of her stay arrived, grateful that he would not have to see her for a long time after.

Unfortunately for Harry, things were never that easy for him.

He had made it through most of dinner, carefully ignoring everything that the large and drunk woman said. Harry would have been fine if it hadn't been for the insults shifting to focus on his parents. There were things that Harry wouldn't stand for, things that made him lose his usually calm demeanor and speaking of his parents the way Marge had was one of those things.

That was how his aunt had ended up blowing up after he lost control of his magic, leading him to leave the Dursley's house. Harry had no idea of where to go or how to get there. He was now alone with a trunk full of magic books and an empty cage with the ministry after him, because he knew they would be searching for him after he had broken the law on underage magic.

Just as Harry was wondering whether he would be kicked out of school, he heard a low sound, like a groan, almost. Warily, he looked around, searching for the origin of the noise, wand drawn. He figured it wouldn't make any difference if he used a bit more magic and he wasn't about to stand there defenseless.

The street was dark and empty, at least from what he could see. He squinted in the night, trying to get a glimpse of whatever was hiding around there. An unexpected breeze made the park swings shift slightly, the chains creaking from old age. Harry was about to give up and go back to where his trunk was, but then he heard it again, and this time he also caught the bushes moving near a tree in the park.

Warily, Harry took a few steps forward, wand pointed and ready to fire whatever spell came to mind.

"Who's there?" Harry called out.

He waited nervously for a response of any kind. When none came, he got closer, still on alert. The past two years had taught him never to let his guard down, especially since very unusual things happened around Harry. He was not disappointed this time.

Laying there in the bushes was a girl, thin and rather pale, though perhaps it just seemed that way because it was so dark. Her hair was cut short, perhaps just brushing her shoulders, and splayed out messily around her face, inky black in color. She was dressed simply in shorts, a dark blue t-shirt, a sort of belt with several little pouches and some sneakers. There really wasn't anything strange about her, apart from the fact that she appeared to be unconscious behind the bushes of a park in Surrey.

Unsure of what to do, but not really believing that he would be attacked, Harry tried to wake her by shaking her shoulder.

"Hey, wake up," he called. "Come on, you can't just stay here."

As safe as the neighborhood was, it was never a good idea to sleep outside at night, especially since there was supposed to be some escaped convict around. At least, that was what Harry had heard on the news. To his relief, the girl shifted and with a groan, she began to open her eyes.

Harry still clutched his wand, though it was now hidden in his pocket. He wouldn't take any chances and the ministry was still after him. He watched as she sat up with some effort, a disoriented look on her face.

_"Doko ka...?" _she muttered in a daze.

Harry blinked, not having any idea of what the girl had just said. She was looking around the dark playground in confusion. Her eyes finally settled on Harry and she blinked in surprise before standing and taking a couple of shaky steps away from him.

_"Dare ka?"_

Harry stared blankly, not understanding what the girl had said.

"Er, sorry, I don't understand," he said awkwardly.

Her brow furrowed slightly and a small frown appeared on her face as she seemed to think on what he had just said.

"Who are you?" she asked with a strange accent.

It took Harry by surprise to hear her speaking English, but he was glad they could understand each other, even if it was clear she had trouble with the language. Still, he wasn't so sure he should give his name to someone he had just found lying in a park.

"I'm, er, Harry," he said hesitantly, deciding she might not even know who Harry Potter was. There really wasn't a reason to believe she was from the ministry and why would a witch be around that place?

"Hari," she said, mispronouncing his name due to her accent.

"Where is this?" she asked him.

"Er, Little Whinging, Surrey," he said, uncertainly.

She frowned and shook her head.

"What country?"

Harry stared at her after that question. She didn't even know what _country _she was in. That certainly explained why she spoke some other language. Now that Harry looked at her closely, she looked to be Asian.

"England," he said.

She blinked, seemingly surprised, her frown deepening. It was clear that Harry hadn't given her any good news. He stepped closer to her, confident she wouldn't attack him. She didn't look to be particularly dangerous.

"Listen, if you're lost or something you could ask-"

Before Harry could finish speaking, he had been pulled by his shirt rather roughly and released abruptly. He stumbled for a bit and then turned to snap at her and ask what the bloody hell she was doing, but stopped when he realized he had once again been wrong. This girl wasn't just a normal girl.

Her right hand was curled slightly and she was holding what could only be described as black fire, or at least, that was what it looked like to Harry. It engulfed her hand and shifted around it, dark wisps dissolving in the wind. She was looking ahead at something on the other side of the street with a wary expression.

Harry couldn't see anything ahead, but then it was dark. He advanced slowly, squinting his eyes to try to see if there was something or someone hiding out there. He hoped there wasn't because he really didn't want to do any more magic, even if the girl behind him was from the magical world. Though a bit more wouldn't hurt now that he was on the run and he wouldn't hesitate to defend himself.

He felt a hand on his arm and glanced to the side and at the girl he had just met. She kept her eyes ahead and was about to say something when he got the prickly feeling on the back of his neck he got when he was being watched. There was very little light on the street and he couldn't make out much, but there was something standing in a narrow alleyway between a garage and fence.

"Lumos," Harry muttered, and a light shone brightly at the tip of his wand. In an instant, Harry knew he had not done the smart thing.

The girl made a panicked sound and stumbled back and away from his wand, the strange _thing _in her hand dispersing in a messy mist as she fell. He heard a growl on the other side of the street and, with the light from his wand, was able to make out a large shape with great glowing eyes, stalking towards them.

Harry took a step back and tripped over the girl's foot and his wand slipped from his hand, as he quickly moved his arm to break his fall.

There was a loud BANG and suddenly, Harry had to raise his arms to avoid being blinded by the bright lights that had appeared out of nowhere. He felt himself being pulled back onto the pavement just in time to avoid the huge, triple-decker bus. It was a bright purple color with gold lettering on the windshield spelling out The Knight Bus. From it stepped out a tall boy, about eighteen or nineteen years old with large ears and quite a few pimples. He began to recite a sort of introduction, something about the bus being for stranded witches and wizards.

Harry didn't pay much attention, still wondering what that thing lurking in the alley had been. The girl had already stood and was pulling him to his feet, something that must have been rather hard for her since she was so short and thin. Once on his feet, Harry looked back at the now empty space where _something_ had been standing, watching.

"'Choo looking at?" said Stan Shunpike, the conductor.

Harry wondered if he should tell him about the dog-like thing he had seen, but the girl spoke first.

"This bus go anywhere?" she asked curiously.

"Yep," Stan answered with pride, "anywhere you like, long's it's on land. Can't do nuffink under water. 'Ere," he said, and Harry could tell he was suspicious of them, "you did flag us down, dincha? Stuck out your wand 'and, dincha?"

"Yes," Harry answered immediately, thanking the heavens for the very convenient appearance of the bus.

"How much to go to London?"

"Eleven sickles," Stan answered.

Harry was already digging in his trunk for his money bag as Stan told him about the other offers including things like hot cocoa. He felt a tap on his shoulder and looked at the girl he had found.

"How far London?" she asked.

Harry blinked, not sure why she would want to know that. Then it hit him; she hadn't known what country she was in, and hadn't recognized the bus. How likely would it be for her to have money for the Knight Bus if she didn't even know about it?

"Why?" he asked her.

"No money, so I walk," she said simply, and Harry wondered why she didn't seem worried at all about the fact that it was late at night and she barely even spoke the language.

Harry pulled out some gold coins and shoved them into Stan's hands.

"You can come with me if you're going to London," Harry told her, not wanting to leave her behind when there was something lurking nearby. Besides, whatever it was she had done earlier proved that she wasn't a regular person and he was curious. Years later, Harry would look back on that night and admit that it had been his 'hero complex', as his friends called it, that led him to let the girl tag along.

She looked reluctant to accept his help, but in the end followed after him and Stan with Hedwig's cage while the other two lifted the trunk into the bus.

Strangely, there were no seats on the bus, only beds and both Harry and the girl looked around curiously. They were given beds near the driver's seat and introduced to the driver, Ernie Prang. When asked for his name, Harry used the first to pop into his head; Neville Longbottom. He ignored the funny look the girl on the next bed gave him. It was only when Stan asked for her name that Harry realized he didn't know it either.

"Mira Miyake," she said easily. "It nice meeting you."

She still needed to work on her English. Soon enough, they were on their way with another BANG and the new passengers were thrown back onto their beds as the bus lurched forward violently. Stan helped the few other passengers off and then immersed himself in a copy of the daily prophet, giving Harry a chance to question the girl currently holding onto the bed's railing in an attempt to remain sitting.

"So, where are you going to go once you get to London?" Harry asked, not really sure about where to start with his questioning.

She looked at him for a moment before answering.

"I visit, uh, friends. I know people in London, but not know where."

Harry raised an eyebrow at the answer.

"You don't know where they live?"

She shook her head. "Never gone," she answered.

Harry frowned, trying to make sense of that.

"Where are you from?"

"Japan, Tokyo. Not knowing how came here," she admitted, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Do you remember what you were doing before?"

The simple question seemed to take her a while to answer. It was like she didn't know how to answer him, but she did in the end.

"Yes," she said thoughtfully, and then, something seemed to have occurred to her and she frowned.

"What year it being?"

Harry was startled at the question, but answered nonetheless. "1993," he said.

She just sat there for a while, her face paling considerably and her blue eyes, rather strange for a person of Asian descent, Harry thought, widening.

"Why does that matter?" Harry asked her.

She looked at him and shook her head.

"Can't say," she explained. "Not sure what happen."

Harry wasn't sure what she meant, but there was something else he was curious about.

"So, you're a witch then?"

Immediately, she turned to glare at him, something Harry found rather strange.

"Not witch," she snapped.

"Er, sorry, it's just what you did back there, er, what was that?"

She looked at him suspiciously, clearly having been offended at being called a witch.

"Can't tell," she told him, irritation still evident in her voice. "That," she pointed at his pocket where he had stuck his wand, " what it being?"

Harry suddenly didn't feel like telling her, not when she didn't tell him about herself.

"Can't tell," he said, amused at the way she glared at him, "but I'll tell you if you answer my questions."

For a moment, she looked torn between trusting Harry and telling him to bug off. With a sigh, she nodded.

"I tell, but not here," she glanced at Stan, who was still reading the paper.

Harry agreed and the rest was spent with her trying to see what they were driving past and Harry talking to Stan. He had found out that the convict that had appeared on the news was a wizard. He had escaped from the prison, Azkaban, where he had been held for twelve years for murdering thirteen people in broad daylight.

On the bed next to him, Mira was listening intently. Harry could tell because her eyes would turn their way every now and then, most likely when something caught her interest. After a while, talk of the convict, Sirius Black, died down and Harry was left to lay on his bed, wondering what he would do now. He couldn't go back to Hogwarts, not after he had blown up his aunt, so where would he go. He thought he would lay low for a while, get some gold from Gringotts and then leave, though he wasn't really sure why.

Maybe he would help Mira find her friends in London. He really didn't have anything better to do and it would be nice to travel with someone else instead of by himself. Besides, he was still curious about her and she had said she would answer his questions later.

Soon, they had reached their destination, The Leaky Cauldron, entrance to Diagon Alley. Mira and Stan helped him get his things out, the girl deciding to stick with Harry for a while. He supposed it was to be expected since she didn't know anyone else or where she was, even. He thanked Stan, but he wasn't paying attention, instead staring at something behind Harry.

"There you are Harry," said a voice, and Harry couldn't help but panic at the thought of having been found. It seemed that his great escape had been cut rather short.

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><p><strong>Hello there and thank you for reading this story. I hope it was to your liking and now that you're done with the first chapter, let me explain more about the concept and characters. <strong>

**Mira is a character from one of my original stories that I decided to cross over into the Harry Potter world just to satisfy my curiosity as to what would happen. Because of this, she has her own world and story though it is heavily AU from my original story, this was done to make it easier to understand for readers and because I don't want to give away any of the plot for my story. **

**As to her troubles speaking, she's from Japan, and alternate world Japan, but still Japan. She knows English because she has studied it a bit, but not enough to have proper sentence structure and know the finer points of grammar. Don't worry, she will get better and there will be no mixing of English with Japan words. She will speak Japanese, but that will be in italics.  
><strong>

**At the moment, the story is based heavily on the original Harry Potter plot line, but it will deviate as it moves along. The plan with this is to take it through all the books from the third onward, each moving away from the HP story a bit more. I have already written enough for a few chapters and have some excerpts from the fourth book done just to cement my ideas. **

**For all readers I recommend looking at this as just an HP story with original characters thrown in. Please do not Review telling me Mira is a Mary Sue or whatever, she's my character and if she seems like the main character type, it's because she is a main character of her own story. Regardless of that, most of this story, at least for the third book, will be looked at from Harry's point of view, occasionally switching to another character's point of view. **

**Please review and tell me what you think about it. I'm writing this mainly to put the idea to rest since it's been bugging me and I can't write anything else until it's out. Thank you for checking it out and I hope you stick around.**


	2. Chapter 2: The Other World

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or any elements belonging the the Harry Potter series. All Harry Potter related content is the sole property of J.K. Rowling. Any OCs and unfamiliar concepts are mine.

**I hope you enjoy this chapter, to those of you who enjoyed the previous one and thank you for coming back to read. Please, if you find the time, review and tell me what you think. To those who have added this story to their favorites/alerts, thank you.  
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><p><strong>Chapter Two: The Other World<br>**

Harry was shocked.

That was the most accurate thing that could be said at the time. He had met Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, outside the Leaky Cauldron and, surprisingly, had not been expelled. Now, he was sitting outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, trying to get some homework done while enjoying a free sundae.

It had only been a day since Harry had arrived at Diagon Alley only to be met there by the Minister of Magic. To say that he had been surprised, would be an understatement, especially when Fudge expressed nothing but relief at seeing that he was safe and asked him to stay at the Leaky Cauldron for the remainder of the Summer. Harry didn't know what to think of it, but he certainly wouldn't complain.

Mira had also been surprised to learn that Fudge was the leader of the wizards, but she had been glad to run into someone who might be able to help her. After Fudge had spoken with Harry, she had insisted on him listening to her. Harry still wasn't sure how she had done it, but she had been granted some time to speak to Fudge and he had been sent to his room to get some rest. He still remembered the way she had waved and thanked him before he left. He supposed it was a good thing that she had spoken with Fudge, but he had wanted to know more about her, mainly about what she had done back in the park. It didn't bother him too much, though, and soon he had forgotten about the strange girl as he walked through the bustling crown in Diagon Alley after having finished his sundae.

"Hari!"

Harry stopped at the familiar voice. He hadn't heard it since the previous night and hadn't thought he would be hearing it again, but it wasn't hard to recognize the strange accent. Just as he had thought, Mira was hurrying over to him, battling through the crowds of Diagon Alley, looking better than the night he had met her. Of course, she probably hadn't had to sleep in a park and then ride a wildly swerving bus, he mused. She stopped before him with a grin and he noticed that she was holding several bags and parcels.

"Er, hi," he said uncertainly. It was surprising, really to see her again, especially after he had seen her leave with Fudge. Harry had thought she would have gone home by now. Apparently, he had been wrong. He had been wrong about a lot of things lately.

"What are you doing here?" he asked rather bluntly.

"Shopping," Mira answered easily, holding up her purchases to prove her point.

"Yes, I can see that, but why are you still here? I thought you would go back home."

"Oh," she said, "I decide to stay. Go to school here," she explained.

Harry stared.

"Wait, you don't mean Hogwarts, do you?"

Mira nodded happily.

"Dumbledoru say it okay," she shrugged and Harry couldn't help but snort at the way she said the headmaster's name. "He say I can stay, he find way home for me."

"So you're shopping for school supplies?"

She nodded, clearly enthusiastic about the prospect of attending Hogwarts.

"And you came here alone?"

It was something that had just crossed Harry's mind. It just didn't seem like something Dumbledore would do. He would probably send some teacher along. It didn't come as a surprise when she shook her head.

"Puro-profu-, Mr. Snape bring me here."

Harry felt his lip twitch at her troubles with the language, but then paled when he heard who had been sent with her.

"Snape's here?" he asked, looking around, as if the potions professor would just jump out from Merlin knew where. Harry was relieved when she shook her head.

"He left, coming back later for me."

Harry couldn't hold back the relieved sigh at that. Then he remembered that there were still a lot of things he needed to know about the girl. Actually, he only knew her name and that she was from Japan. He looked up in time to catch the back of her cloak before she got lost in the crowd. Her attention had been won by a colorful display at Gambol and Japes. Mira turned back to look at Harry with a puzzled expression.

"Wait, you said you would answer my questions," Harry reminded her.

She seemed to understand and nodded.

"Not now. I need wand first, then I answer questions, yes?"

Harry nodded and led her down the street to Ollivander's. The store was as dusty as the last time he had been there, the amount of boxes piled around it not seeming to have diminished in the least despite the new wave of students each year. He sat at a rickety old chair against the wall while Mira looked around curiously.

"Hello."

Ollivander had just appeared, quite suddenly at that, making Mira jump a bit. She looked at him as suspiciously as the old man gazed at her curiously. His pale eyes moved over to Harry and he smiled a bit wider.

"Ah, Mr. Potter. Didn't think I'd see you here," he said, then turned serious. "I hope you're not in for another wand."

"No," Harry hurried to say, "I'm just waiting for her to get one."

Ollivander nodded and turned back to Mira.

"Hmm, don't remember seeing you here before and you seem a bit old to be starting Hogwarts."

Mira took a step back as the old man leaned in closer.

"Ah, I transfer," she said. "Not use wand in my country."

Ollivander seemed suspicious, or it was more like he _knew _she was lying, but he said nothing, instead starting to measure her. Harry couldn't help but be amused at the way she watched the tape measurer, a mix or surprise, curiosity and apprehension on her face. At last, the tape stopped moving on it's own and Ollivander took out a wand.

"Here you go, 9 1/2 inches, maple and dragon heartstring."

With clear interest, Mira took the wand. Immediately, Ollivander's desk caught fire. She was still apologizing profusely even after the fire had been put out and Ollivander had taken another wand.

"Try this one, 13 inches, birch with unicorn hair."

Mira reluctantly gave it a feeble wave only to have a gust of strong wind knock down a couple of boxes stacked on the desk. The wand was immediately returned while she blushed almost as brightly as the Weasley's hair. Things went on in a similar fashion for nearly ten minutes and Harry was sitting back, hoping they would find the right wand soon. He really did have a lot to ask her and Snape would be back for her soon.

"Alright, give this one a wave."

Resigned to destroying half the shop, Mira grasped the new wand and blinked, staring down at it. Warily, she gave it a wave and watched as some bright blue sparks shot out, flickering merrily in the air as they fell around them and dissolved. When nothing was destroyed, they knew it was the right one.

"Excellent! 10 1/2 inches, Ebony with a phoenix feather core. Useful for charms, I daresay," Ollivander told them happily, seeming to enjoy completing such a challenge.

Moments later, Harry was walking back to the Leaky Cauldron with Mira in tow. She was still looking around with interest and Harry had to go back and drag her away from shop windows more than once.

"Where we going?" she asked after a while.

"The Leaky Cauldron, it's where I'm staying. We can talk there."

Mira seemed satisfied with the answer and quietly followed Harry to his room where she took a seat at his desk. Harry sat on his bed, thinking of where to start. When he couldn't make up his mind, he just asked the first thing that popped into his mind.

"What did you tell the Minister last night?"

She seemed to have been expecting that and answered promptly.

"I tell him I lost. Fudge not sure how to help though, not very bright," she said offhandedly making Harry arch an eyebrow. "Fudge not believe me, maybe not understood, he sent for Dumbledoru."

Harry frowned. Why would Fudge need help dealing with a teenage girl? It shouldn't be that hard to send her home, right? And what had that been about him not believing her? Why wouldn't he? Then Harry thought that maybe she was right, maybe he just hadn't understood, even though he didn't have any trouble in speaking with her.

"What do you mean he didn't believe you?"

Mira looked thoughtful.

"More like not sure how I get here. He confused so he ask help. Dumbledoru very good, he speak well and offer me mission," she was smiling now, but Harry wondered if she had mixed up some words.

"Mission? You mean job, right?"

She shook her head.

"Mission, not job. Not work for Hogwarts, Dumbledoru hire me while he help me back home."

Now, Harry felt like he was even more confused than before he had gotten any answers.

"Why would he need to hire you?"

"Protect someone," she shrugged.

Now Harry looked at her skeptically.

"Protect someone how?" he struggled not to point out that she didn't look particularly strong.

She frowned and it looked like she was thinking of how to answer.

"I fight, I have power so I strong."

Harry still looked at her with disbelief, but then he thought back to the night at the park and the strange fire she had produced.

"What kind of power? Magic?"

She shook her head.

"Not magic, different, can't explain how," she said with a shrug. "Still can't speak well."

That brought about another question.

"How is it that you speak English?"

"School," she answered simply. "But I miss many classes. Learn fast though."

Something about the way she said that made Harry think it wasn't completely true, but he shrugged it off.

"Right, about the power you told me about, what does it do? What is it?"

She looked uncomfortable now, but sighed and held out her hand. Immediately, a black sphere appeared, dark wisps floating around it. Harry watched and wondered what it was. In the properly lit room, it was clear it wasn't fire of any kind.

"What is it?" he asked distractedly.

"Dark energy," Mira answered softly. "It dangerous, don't touch unless I say."

Harry nodded numbly.

"What does it do?" he reiterated his earlier question.

"Lots," she shrugged. "I make shield," and she moved her hand before her, a thin dark wall appearing in the air. Harry reached out with a tentative hand and, at her nod of approval, touched it. Whatever it was, it was solid and cool, like glass.

Mira drew her hand back and it disappeared.

"It shoot out, very dangerous, lot of damage."

Harry didn't really want a demonstration of that one.

"It do other things, take long to explain."

Harry nodded and moved on.

"Where you come from, is this common?"

At once, she shook her head.

"Only one with power, others have powers, but not the same. Very little people have them."

Harry's brow furrowed at the news.

"You're the only one who can do that?"

She nodded.

"Why?"

"Don't know," she said.

"What do you use your powers for?"

Mira sighed and leaned back against the desk.

"I come from world like this," she said, making Harry wonder what she meant by 'world'. "It different though, it have bad, uh, things. Dangerous, but not many see them."

Harry was having trouble understanding what she meant and it had nothing to do with her limited vocabulary.

"What kind of things?"

She took on a thoughtful look.

"Demons, you call them."

Harry stared at her, he stared for a good amount of time, but she still seemed serious.

"Demons."

She nodded.

"Your home has demons that people can't see."

Again, a nod.

"And now you're going to tell me you fight these demons with your mysterious powers?" he said skeptically. Even for a wizard, this was far-fetched. Surprisingly, she nodded.

"Yes, I fight for...company? No, not right, um, government group," she said uncertainly. "Based in Tokyo, but there are others, Germany and London. Others work there, fight demons too with powers, but other people don't know."

"You mean people without powers?"

"Yes, they can't see, so we protect. We fight, work in pairs."

Harry thought about this for a moment.

"You said in your 'world', what did you mean?"

Mira grinned and Harry somehow felt he should worry.

"Other world is home, not this one. Dumbledoru say I cross, not know how though. I remember someone open gate, a bad person, tried to get rid of me."

"A gate? A gate to where?"

"Demon world," she said calmly, "other dimension, Dumbledoru call it. But maybe not," she added the last part thoughtfully.

"And it went wrong and you came here instead?"

"Yes, I think, not sure now. But I need to go back."

"But it can't be that hard if you managed to come here," Harry pointed out.

Mira shrugged.

"Maybe, not sure, Dumbledoru help while I work."

That reminded Harry of something he dreaded the answer to.

"You said you had to protect someone, who is that person?"

Again, she grinned.

"Harry Potter," she said.

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><p>Mira had gone to meet Snape not long after she had revealed she had been hired to protect him. She wouldn't tell him from what, but he would find out later. After all, she would be attending school with him, so he had more than enough time to figure it out.<p>

In all honesty, Harry didn't know how to react to the news that Dumbledore had hired a thirteen year old girl to protect him. He was irritated that the headmaster thought he needed a bodyguard, but also glad it was Mira. At the very least, he mused, he wouldn't be followed around by some attention-grabbing thugs. And besides, she seemed nice enough, even if she was rather strange.

_'And I suppose you're normal?' _a little voice told him. Harry scowled at his own thought, but he had to admit it was right. He just hoped she wouldn't call more attention to him, that was something he really didn't need.

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><p>Mira grinned as she looked through her new books, glad that she could at least read English a bit better than she could speak it. It really was a pain to have to suddenly switch to another language so suddenly, especially since it wasn't for just a short amount of time. At the very least, she thought, it was an interesting world, the one she had landed in.<p>

While there were no such thing as Hunters and demons in this world, there were wizards, which were just as interesting to her as she was to them. And they were most certainly interested in her. That had been made very clear when she had spoken to Dumbledore.

_The room she now sat in was filled with all sorts of artifacts, moving and whirring about, sparkling and attention grabbing. She looked around in awe, fully convinced now of the existence of magic. At least in the world she was now in. It was certainly something she would have to tell her friends about. When she got home that is._

_She sighed, once again thinking of her friends who had been left back home and missing__ her __ partner. She had no idea how to get back home or what could be happening in her own world. Her friends would certainly panic when they saw she was missing and she didn't even what to think of what her partner would do. He would most likely have a heart attack. She didn't have long to muse on the people back home, though.  
><em>

_The doors opened and in walked Fudge with a very tall old man. She blinked a few times and stared at him, taking in his long purple robes with stars and crescent moons, his half moon spectacles poised on his crooked nose and the insanely long white beard tucked into his belt. All in all, she wouldn't hesitate to call this man a wizard, even in her own world. Of course, she would most likely be joking then and think the man was insane. _

_He smiled at her and his blue eyes seem to twinkle with what she could only call amusement. Next to him Fudge looked flustered and not at all impressive. Of course, Mira hadn't been too fond of the man since she had met him. Though that was probably because of the way he struggled to understand her, frustrating her to no ends and making her feel particularly stupid. It wasn't her fault she had been too busy with other things to worry about learning a foreign language, even if everyone else said she should. Beside, Harry had had no trouble at all in speaking to and understanding her, so why was it so hard for this man? Now, she just hoped she wouldn't have to go through the same with the old man that had just walked in._

"Hello and welcome to Hogwarts," _the old man said in, shockingly enough, her own language, though it was heavily accented. _"My name is Albus Dumbledore and I am the Headmaster of this school. Now, the Minister has told me that you needed help with something, but I'm afraid he couldn't quite understand what it is you wanted due to the language barrier."

_Mira huffed indignantly at not being understood. Her English wasn't _that _bad, right? Still, she bowed slightly and introduced herself._

"My name is Mira Miyake, as you would say, and I thank you for your time. It is a relief to find someone who can understand my language," _she said sincerely and if anyone from her world saw her they would be shocked to see she could sound polite and professional. _"Like I tried to tell the Minister, I believe I was somehow transported into this world during a...conflict," _she supplied hesitantly, though she knew she would have to tell them the truth if she wanted help, already she could see he knew she was hiding something._"I'm not entirely sure what happened, but the enemy was overwhelmed and tried to get rid of me. I'm positive he didn't mean to send me to this world, but another I'm more familiar with, though it's just as dangerous."

_Dumbledore looked at her curiously now._

"I must admit," _he said after a moment, _"though I have heard of worlds hidden in other dimensions, I have never met anyone who has actually traveled through one. It is not a common occurrence, even for us."

_Mira guessed as much, but she still hoped she could get back home._

"You said it was an enemy that caused this, I take it then that opening gateways to other dimensions is more common where you come from?"

_Mira bit her lip, trying to think of how to explain. In the end, she decided it would be easier to just tell Dumbledore everything. Besides, he just wanted to help, or so she hoped._

"No, it's not that common actually, at least not to other dimensions. You see, I come from a world that's a lot like this one, really it's almost exactly the same. The same countries, languages and customs so it's more of a parallel universe or dimension," _she began her explanation. _"There are a few key differences, however. For one, the world I come from is several years in the future, the year being 2010." _The old wizard looked mildly surprised, but did not interrupt._ "Also, in my world, there are small gates that open every now and then. They lead to a dimension in the same universe, parallel to our world called the demon world. When demons crawl out of there they often attack the people in our world, even though most can't see them, at least not unless the demon is very powerful, then they may disguise themselves as human."

_She could tell this was all very interesting to Dumbledore. He seemed to take in every word she spoke as he sat behind his desk. But then again, she would be interested as well, if she were in his place.  
><em>

"To defend the people, an organization was created by governments around the world. Originally founded in Germany, it is called Schattenreich and it is made up of people with special powers that are trained from an early age to fight. They use their abilities to destroy demons and close the gates through which they enter. These people are called Hunters and they all have different abilities. There are three main branches in Berlin, London and Japan, I belong to the Japan branch," _she confessed. _"I received a mission along with my partner and two other Hunters and was dispatched to a wooded area near a small town where there had been several unexplained disappearances. When we got there, we were able to find the culprit, a demon with control over time and space."

_There was a spark of understanding in Dumbledore's eyes, she noted, and was glad he wasn't as dense as the Minister._

"We fought it, but when it was too much for the demon it tried to transport me to the demon world, most likely. It would be hard for me to get out too soon if I went there, but I would still be able to find my way back. Unfortunately, something went wrong and I was brought here instead."

"I see, but you said you would still be able to get out if you were sent to the 'demon world' as you called it?"

_Mira nodded. _"Sometimes, we have to go there to make sure nothing strange is happening, usually when we have too many demons entering our world, so it's not hard for a Hunter to open a portal there. Without knowing where we are, though, it's too risky. I'm not sure what dimension I'm in or how much power I would need to get back home or to the demon world even. I can't sense any familiar energy either, which is how we usually open gates. There's always a sort of energy leading from our world to the demon world, like a path only we can sense. Without it I'm lost," _she finished helplessly._

_Dumbledore looked at her for a while, thinking of what to do with the girl. At last he spoke, and it wasn't what Mira had been expecting._

"I believe I can help you," _he said. _"But it will take a while to figure out how to get you back home," _Dumbledore admitted. Mira didn't really care as long as she was able to go back eventually._

"In the meantime, you are more than welcome to stay here in Hogwarts. I'm sure with your abilities, you'll be able to make at least some spells work," _he said with a smile._

"Thank you," _Mira said with a wide smile of her own._ "Of course, if there's anything I can help you with I'd be glad to do so."

_The old man seemed to seriously consider this, and when he next spoke it was with a more serious voice._

"There is one thing I would ask of you, but I will not make you take on the task unless you sincerely want to," _he told her, making her wonder what it could possibly be. _"You see, a prisoner named Sirius Black has recently escaped from the wizarding prison of Azkaban, the first to do so, actually, and I am afraid he is after one of my students."

_Understanding showed in Mira's expression. _

"You want me to keep this person safe," _she stated, not doubting she was right._

_As she had expected, the old wizard nodded. _"It would make me feel a lot more at ease to know there is someone close by, watching over the students, especially the one Black is after and it seems that you are not unfamiliar with danger."

"I understand, but why is he after this student in particular?" _Mira questioned, glad that he was taking her seriously. She didn't want anyone to think she was a helpless child that was lost. Even at her age she had been in a fair amount of fights. It was clear that the old man before her could see that._

_Dumbledore then explained about Voldemort, the previous war, the crimes of Sirius Black and the boy named Harry Potter, her charge and the one who had found her that very night._ _It was all very interesting and somewhat confusing, but she understood the chaotic history of the world she was stranded in and sympathized with those fighting for peace. After agreeing to take on the mission, she had been allowed to leave with a stern looking witch, Professor McGonagall, had led her to her temporary room while Dumbledore spoke with Fudge. She wished she would have been able to stay, but Dumbledore had already told her of the little fib about her being a lost exchange student he would be telling Fudge. It would be easy, considering the Minister was denser than marble._

Dumbledore had called her in that morning, telling her he would send her to get her supplies with one of his staff members. The only one available, unfortunately, had been the bitter potions master, Severus Snape, but Mira just ignored his snide remarks. At least she had gotten to talk to Harry and she was glad Dumbledore had granted her the freedom to tell him whatever she deemed necessary as long as it was to aid in protecting him. She reasoned that it would be easier to keep track of him if he knew she was only trying to help.

It was a good thing Dumbledore had said it was alright when she returned to the castle and talked to him. He had wanted to explain to her that she would be going over some simple spells with the other teachers to make it easier for her to blend in with the other students. Of course, they would also be helping her with her English which, while not that bad, could stand to be a bit better(though she still felt her eye twitch at the reminder of Snape calling her English a"horrid jumble of gibberish"). And with that, her improvised training in witchcraft and wizardry began.

Of course, she didn't just limit herself to learning spells and potions (which she _knew _she would be bad at before she started but was made more difficult with Snape as a teacher). She would often sneak into the library on nights when she couldn't sleep, thinking that she might as well try to find out a bit more about the world she currently inhabited. In the long hours in her temporary living quarters she had read about the wizarding war that had ended not long ago and the Dark wizard who had caused it. Mira had learned more about Harry Potter and the man after him, Sirius Black.

It certainly seemed like Harry would need all the protection he could get, especially after the last two years. Trouble seemed to follow the young wizard where ever he went and now that they _knew _someone was actually after him, it was only a given that something would happen. Mira was just glad Harry hadn't asked why he would need protection, as Dumbledore had asked her not to tell him about Black just yet. He didn't know the convict was after him and it would be better if it stayed that way for a while longer. She didn't bother to point out that he would most likely find out soon since just about everyone else knew already.

Mira just hoped Harry wouldn't take the news too badly, but he didn't seem like the type to panic over something like that, not after all he had gone through. If she were to be honest, she would admit that she was anxious for the school term to begin, tired of the empty castle and silent halls. She wasn't really expecting anything particularly exciting to happen, after all, it was a school, but it would be nice to have some people her age around. They were very different from her and her friends back home, more carefree, she thought. Even so, this year, she hoped, would be interesting.

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><p><strong>Hello to all my wonderful readers. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter and if you haven't pardon my bad writing. It is good to get some practice in, though, and this is my first Harry Potter story.<strong>

**Moving along, please review if you have the time and once again, thanks to those who have supported this story by adding it to their favorites/alerts.**

**As I have said before, I have a fair amount of the story written down, but I will not have daily updates because I don't think I could keep up with that. I just thought I'd post this to celebrate the start of a new story and the news of the new Pottermore project. It does sound so very interesting. Until next time!**


	3. Chapter 3: A Meeting of Friends

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or any elements belonging the the Harry Potter series. All Harry Potter related content is the sole property of J.K. Rowling. Any OCs and unfamiliar concepts are mine.

**I hope you enjoy this chapter, to those of you who enjoyed the previous one and thank you for coming back to read. Please, if you find the time, review and tell me what you think. To those who have added this story to their favorites/alerts, thank you.  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter Three: A Meeting of Friends<br>**

The day of the train ride to Hogwarts finally arrived and Harry was glad for it. It wasn't that he hadn't enjoyed the last two weeks in the Leaky Cauldron. If anything, those two weeks had been some of the best in his life. Harry had been able to do what he wanted, free to roam the shops of Diagon Alley and had even met several classmates who were shopping for their supplies. In the last day before term, he had met up with Hermione, Ron and the rest of the Weasleys who spent the night at the Leaky Cauldron as well. It had been lucky too, since Harry would not have found out about Black being after him otherwise.

He had heard it from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley the previous night when he had gone back downstairs to get Ron's rat tonic. They had been arguing, and it had been his name that had made him stay. Apparently, Mrs. Weasley didn't think that he should be told about the convict targeting him. Mr. Weasley Disagreed and Harry had to be grateful that at least someone didn't think him completely useless. He _could _defend himself.

Harry had been wanting to tell Ron and Hermione about what he had heard, but the morning they were to leave for the platform had been a busy one and they had gotten there with little time to spare, even though the Minister had sent two cars to take them to King's Cross. By then, Harry was certain that it was only the fact that he had a wanted man after him that made the Minister provide them with a ride to the station.

The platform was, as usual, filled with parents, students and various pets. Owls hooted to each other from their cages, conversing as their owners said their goodbyes to their families. Cats darted around from between people's legs and the croaking of toads (a much less popular pet) could be heard every now and then. Mrs. Weasley began to hug her children, Harry and Hermione before passing out sandwiches in a hurry.

Harry looked over at the scarlet steam engine that was the Hogwarts Express, smiling a bit at the sight. It was always good to be back in the station, ready to head to the place that was closet to home, at least to him. As he looked around at the other people gathered around, he caught a glimpse of a familiar girl. Harry was about to head over to where she was, to ask her how she was doing, but was stopped by Mr. Weasley, who wanted a quick word with him. With one last glanced at the girl, he followed Mr. Weasley.

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><p>Mira could only stare in awe at the scarlet steam engine before her. She had never seen anything quite like it before and she felt herself growing excited at the prospect of riding on it all the way to Hogwarts. After a moment more of staring she looked around for any sign of the young wizard she was supposed to protect, but it was very difficult for her to find him in the large crowd, especially with her small stature. Mira sighed and decided to just board the train and look for Harry later. The train was due to leave in only a moment and she didn't want to get caught in the last minute rush to enter the train.<p>

It was lucky that she already knew where she would be sitting.

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><p>Harry was barely able to make it onto the already moving train, still thinking about what Mr. Weasley had told him. Did they really expect him to go looking for someone who wanted to kill him? It wasn't like he went looking for trouble in the past, he just had a knack for attracting it. At least now he would be able to tell Ron and Hermione about Black being after him.<p>

The three friends moved down the train, looking for an empty compartment, but they were all filled with happily chatting students. They were finally down to the last compartment and hoped it had enough room for the three of them. Harry slid the door open and blinked in surprise at the people inside.

One was a man, an adult in a train usually reserved for children, dressed in shabby and patched clothes. He was fast asleep, leaning against the window and looking absolutely exhausted. The other person grinned up at Harry when he entered.

"Hello, Harry," Mira said with a little wave.

Ron and Hermione looked over his shoulders at the two people in the compartment, curious as to who the girl was. They hadn't seen her before and weren't aware that she knew Harry, but he seemed to recognize her.

"Er, hi Mira," Harry greeted uncertainly. "Listen, all the other compartments are full, so do you think we can sit here?"

Mira nodded cheerfully and the three friends stepped inside and closed the compartment door.

"Hello, are you a friend of Harry's?" Hermione asked with a smile.

Mira blinked and grinned once more.

"Hmm, just met him this Summer," she said with a look at Harry.

"Over the Summer? How?" said Ron with a curious look at Harry. "I thought you lived in a muggle neighborhood."

"Did you meet in Diagon Alley?" Hermione offered.

"No, we met after I left my aunt and uncle's house, before I was picked up by the Knight Bus," Harry admitted and then looked at Mira. "She's just starting at Hogwarts, but she'll be in her third year already."

At his friends' confused faces, Harry began to explain all about how he had met Mira and where she had come from. Of course, it was a heavily edited version without demons or fighting. Mira contributed to the story, adding in a few things or changing things up as she saw fit. Ron and Hermione had been told that Mira had just been the victim of an unfortunate accident involving a rival and a portal that was out of control resulting in her being stranded in another world. In the end, both Ron and Hermione looked at them with mouths hanging open and eyes the size of dinner plates. Unsurprisingly, it was Hermione who recovered first.

"But if you came from another dimension that's really powerful magic! I've only ever seen it mentioned in books, but no one has ever really succeeded in doing it. Not a lot of wizards have tried it, of course. The results could be disastrous even if another dimension were to open up because there really isn't any way to control where to go-"

"Hermione," Harry interrupted at realizing she wouldn't stop talking any time soon. "Breathe," he said with an amused grin. Hermione send him a weak glare, but he knew she didn't mean it. When they looked over at Mira, they saw that she looked utterly confused, not that Harry blamed her. Hermione could be a lot to handle when she became interested in something and dimension hopping would definitely get her attention.

"But then you don't know how to get back home?" Hermione asked curiously.

Mira shook her head, a look of worry appearing for only a moment in her eyes.

"It's difficult, don't know where home is now," she sighed.

She had told them what it was like to travel to an unknown dimension. It was like finding herself in the middle of the forest, she had said, lost, and not knowing which path led back home. Apparently, without any sign of the trail she usually followed, there was no way for her to know what dimension she was in or how to properly open a gate back to her own world. Of course, she had also said there was a chance that she was in the same dimension, but just in another plain, separate from the one she was originally from. Harry couldn't even begin to understand that and gave up in the end. He was pretty sure Ron did the same.

"Dumbledore is helping for now," she said with a small smile. "So I'll go back soon."

Harry noted that her English had improved a fair amount and she no longer had trouble with the headmaster's name. It was a good thing, since it would help him in getting some better answers to his questions. For now, though, Ron and Hermione were the ones who needed answers.

"Yeah, what is Dumbledore asking you to help with?" Ron asked suspiciously.

Mira had allowed Harry to tell them that she wasn't just a student, she was working for Dumbledore until she could go back home. Of course, she had switched subjects almost immediately and so Ron and Hermione still didn't know exactly what she would be doing. Harry looked over at the strange girl, wondering if she would admit to being a sort of guard. He was curious about how his friends would react.

As was to be expected, Mira looked decidedly uncomfortable with the question, obviously not wanting her true aims to be widely known. She glanced at Harry who gave her a very small nod, making her sigh and look at the other two.

"It's secret so don't tell," she told them, and they were quick to assure her that they wouldn't let anyone else know. Hesitantly, she told them.

"I working as, uh, guard, I think. Protecting someone for Dumbledore."

Harry wasn't surprised to hear that she wouldn't tell them who just yet, but then he remembered that the other two still didn't know that Black was after him. It seemed as good a time as any to mention it.

"She's supposed to protect me," he said dully. Mira sent him a warning look, but he just frowned at her.

"They need to know the truth. They're my friends and as long as I'm in danger so are they," he argued. It was true enough. Ron and Hermione would never let him face any dangers on his own, not after the last two years and if Black was after him, chances were they would be in danger too as they were usually with him. With a look of exasperation, Mira sat back, waiting for Harry to tell his friends about Black.

"What-? Why would Dumbledore ask her to-? She's as old as us!" Ron was, apparently, having a hard time in getting his thoughts together. To be fair, it did sound rather ridiculous.

"Why would Harry need someone to protect him?" Hermione asked and Harry smiled faintly at how sharp she was.

"Someone's after him," Mira said with a shrug. "You hear about Sirius Black? He's after Harry, so I protect him."

Ron paled at the mention of the escaped convict and Hermione held a hand up to her mouth, a look of horror on her face. They weren't taking it as well as Harry had hoped.

"Oh Harry, you'll have to be really careful this year," Hermione started. "Don't go looking for trouble-"

"I don't go looking for trouble," Harry said indignantly, "it usually finds me."

"Yeah, how thick would Harry have to be to go looking for someone who wants to kill him?" Ron said in a shaky sort of voice.

"It's okay, I protect Harry," Mira reminded them.

Somehow, Ron and Hermione didn't look too relieved. In fact, they were looking at her with disbelief, not able to to understand just why Dumbledore had put someone so young and, truthfully, small up to such a task.

After that, conversation switched to what Ron and Hermione thought to be a more pleasant topic; Hogsmeade. Harry was feeling rather disappointed at not being able to go with them. It would have been fun, he thought, to get out of the castle with them. The village sounded wonderful, he thought, as he listened to them describing it.

"It'll be nice to get out of the castle for a bit and explore the village, won't it?" Hermione said happily.

"'Spect it will, you'll have to tell me all about it," Harry said heavily.

And so Harry told them about how his uncle had refused to sing it. It was only to be expected after he had blown up his aunt.

"Maybe it's for the best," said Hermione. "With Black looking for you it might not be a good idea for you to stay in the castle."

"That's probably what McGonagall will say," Harry admitted quite bitterly.

"But if she's there it'll be alright," Ron said, pointing to Mira.

"Harry can't go," Mira answered promptly."No permission and I act as student."

Ron moved to argue, but Hermione spoke first.

"That's true, if Mira is acting as a student then Black won't know she's there to look after Harry. Mira won't keep him from attacking, she's just there to keep Harry safe in case he _does _attack, right?"

Mira nodded and Ron looked skeptical.

"But what is she going to do? She said she doesn't even know a lot of magic." Ron pointed out.

"I don't need magic," Mira shrugged. "I use other, um, ability."

Just as Ron was about to ask what she meant, the witch with the food cart opened the compartment door.

"Do you think we should wake him?" Ron asked uncertainly looking at the man sleeping by the window. "Looks like he could use some food."

Hermione shook him hesitantly.

"Um, excuse me," she said nervously.

"It's okay dear, if he's hungry when he wakes I'll be in the front," the witch with the food cart said.

She left shortly after, leaving them with a pile of Cauldron Cakes which Harry passed out.

"Wonder who he is," Ron voiced his thoughts, looking at the only adult in the compartment.

"Professor R.J. Lupin," Hermione answered promptly.

"How'd you know that?" Ron said, looking at her strangely.

"It's on his case," and Hermione pointed at a battered old case help together by neatly knotted rope.

"Wonder what he teaches."

"Defense," Mira answered, making the others look at her. She took an experimental bite from her Cauldron Cake an then a bigger one once she found she liked them. "What?" she asked, looking up at the others.

"Well, I just hope he's up for the job," Ron said. "Looks like one good jinx will finish him off."

Harry had to agree. Professor Lupin didn't look very healthy at all and with the reputation the job had...

"Professor Lupin is good teacher," Mira commented. "He help me catch up."

"Oh that's right, you had to learn two years worth of magic. Are you really all caught up?" Hermione asked Mira.

"No, but I know basics now," she responded easily. "Well, not potions, not good at that," Mira admitted, and Harry didn't blame her.

Hermione wasted no time in questioning Mira about the lessons she had had to catch up. They chatted amiably for a while, with Hermione correcting her every now and then. Mira seemed glad to have someone helping her better her English, even if she gave them sheepish looks whenever she made a mistake. It seemed that she still had trouble with proper sentence structure and she still mixed up some words. Overall, she had improved since Harry had last seen her. He supposed the teachers might have helped her as well.

It was a while later that the compartment door opened once more and the rather unwelcome faces of Draco Malfoy and his two goons, Crabbe and Goyle, looked at them disdainfully.

"Well look who it is," the blond boy drawled, and Mira could hear the arrogance in his tone. "If it isn't Potty and the Weasel."

The two larger boys behind him laughed stupidly.

Cold gray eyes turned to Mira and she thought she saw them narrow before he smirked haughtily.

"What's this, Potter? You've got yourself another fan," he mocked. "You've got no pride, Weasley's got no money and Granger's got no class. What's wrong with this one?"

Ron stood quickly, ready to confront Malfoy, but Professor Lupin gave a snort, making the students stop and stare. Malfoy took a step back, looking at the grown man apprehensively.

"Who's that?" he asked.

"New teacher," Harry said. "What were you saying, Malfoy?"

Malfoy glared, but it appeared even he wouldn't dare start a fight in front of a teacher. With a muttered "C'mon," him and his cronies were gone.

Mira stared curiously after them. Those boys certainly weren't friends of Harry, but were they worth keeping an eye on. They could just be bullies.

"Who're they?" she asked after a moment.

"That was Draco Malfoy," Harry told her. "He's in Slytherin, third year, and he's hated me since we met."

Mira raised an eyebrow. "Why?" she was curious as to why someone would dislike Harry from the moment they met him. He didn't really seem like a bad person.

"Dunno," Harry shrugged.

"He's just a git," Ron muttered resentfully and Mira guessed 'git' was an insult on par with 'idiot'. "But I'm not taking any crap from him this year," he said in a louder voice.

"Ron!" Hermione hissed, motioning to the sleeping professor.

Ron promptly quieted down, though he still had a sour look upon his freckled face. Mira looked out the window, making a note to keep an eye on Malfoy. He had nothing against Slytherin, even after what she had been told of the four houses(and their heads of house), but so far, she didn't have a very good impression of them. She hoped she would be in Gryffindor so she could keep an eye on Harry, but she wouldn't complain if she was in another house, they all had decent qualities.

The sky outside darkened and the rain beat fiercely upon the window. Mira stared at the darkness outside, her mind wandering back to her friends back home. She still worried about them, about what they were thinking at the moment, how they had reacted to her sudden disappearance, though now that she thought about it, maybe no time at all had passed. She couldn't be sure about how things would work out, especially since the world she was currently inhabiting was several years in the past. While she was sure she had traveled through space, she couldn't be sure if she had traveled through time as well. In the world she was in, time could have just started at a later date, basically, the world was a younger one. If so, it was strange that it would develop almost exactly as the one she had left, but there was the possibility that she had just moved simultaneously through time and space which would mean that she could still open a portal that would allow her to move forward and to her own world. It would certainly make things more complicated as she would have to be very precise when opening the portal or she could end up in the past of her world which could be disastrous if she somehow disrupted the time flow.

It was all really much too confusing and with all the other things she had to worry about, Mira felt the beginnings of a headache. She hoped it wouldn't last long. If she had guessed right, it would be a long night, after all, she still had to be sorted into the house and deal with a castle full of curious people. She let her forehead rest against the cool glass of the window and closed her eyes, dozing off only a few minutes later.

Not long after, she was awoken when the train stopped quite abruptly, nearly knocking her off her seat. The lights went out and the air was tense around them. The other students could be talking nervously in the other compartments, wondering why they had stopped. She was suddenly aware that there were people entering the compartment they were in and a moment later, felt someone step on her foot.

"Ouch!" she cried out.

"Sorry, Mira," she heard Harry's voice.

"Who's that?" an unfamiliar male voice asked curiously.

"What happen?" Mira voiced her question.

"Dunno, we just stopped," Ron answered.

More people moved around and everyone was stepped or sat on at some point.

"Stay here, I go check," Mira said, pushing Crookshanks, Hermione's cat, off her lap and wincing as she felt the cat's claws sink into her leg for a moment before it jumped off.

"I'll go with you," said Hermione, opening the compartment door to walk out only to walk into someone else. Both Hermione and the new visitor squealed in pain.

"Who's that?"

"Ginny?"

"Hermione?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for Ron."

"Come in, sit down."

"Not here!" Harry exclaimed. "I'm here!"

"Ouch!" said Neville.

"Sorry," Mira apologized, having stepped on the boy as she tried to make her way through.

"Who's that?" the new girl, Ginny, asked after hearing the unfamiliar voice.

"Quiet!"

Everyone stopped at the hoarse voice that could only belong to Professor Lupin. A moment later, the crowded compartment was illuminated by the flickering light of the flames Lupin held in his hand.

"Stay where you are," he told the students.

Mira wanted to offer some help, but she remembered that she wasn't supposed to let others know about her. As far as they were concerned, she was just a student, visiting to learn about the customs of a foreign country. Besides, it would be better for someone to stay with Harry and his friends, just in case.

Lupin made his way to the compartment door, but it slip open on its own before Lupin could so much as touch it. Behind it was a sight that froze the students inside. A tall cloaked figure stood before them, it's body nearly touching the ceiling. It's face was hidden beneath the cloak's disheveled hood, the fabric seeming worn, almost as if rotting. A glistening, gray hand could be seen, poking out of the long sleeves, it's scabbed skin looking suspiciously like that of a decomposing body.

The students looked on with terror, their faces pale and eyes wide. Mira felt a wave of nausea hit her a the appearance of the _thing _in front of her, but the overwhelming cold and the memories that flashed through her mind distracted her in an unwelcome way. She looked over at the others and then stopped on Harry's pale face. He was shaking slightly, a dazed look in his eyes, and then, they rolled over so that the whites were visible and, with a dull sound, he collapsed to the floor. Harry Potter had just passed out and Mira was starting to panic. This was definitely not a good start to the school year.

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><p><strong>Well hello there and thank you for reading. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter and I decided to cut it off here because otherwise it would have been too long. Sorry if this is too close to the story, but like I said, it'll deviate more heavily over time. Anyways, thanks to everyone who has added this story to their favorites, alerts, or communities. I truly appreciate it. <strong>

**Please review if you get the chance and I hope you stick around with me and my story. Until next time!**


	4. Chapter 4: The Sorting

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or any elements belonging to the Harry Potter series. All Harry Potter related content is the sole property of J.K. Rowling. Any OCs and unfamiliar concepts are mine.

**I hope you enjoy this chapter, to those of you who enjoyed the previous one and thank you for coming back to read. Please, if you find the time, review and tell me what you think. To those who have added this story to their favorites/alerts, thank you. Thank you to the kind people who have reviewed. Because I haven't had time to reply to your reviews, I shall do it here:**

**jediprankster: **Yes, Mira's world is most certainly influenced by manga/anime. It's a little project I started a while ago and I've actually drawn a few pages of it. I do try to make it as close to normal as I can though. I'm not much into weird series. I'm glad you like this story and hope you'll stick around. Thank you for reviewing!

**JAIMOL: **I will most certainly be changing things, though not at once. The story will break off from the HP series as it progresses, though not entirely. I still want to keep some of the original storyline, or as much as I can while changing it enough, but the first few chapters will be more similar to the HP storyline. Thank you for you review and I hope you read more. **  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter Four: The Sorting<br>**

Harry awoke not much later, his vision focusing slowly. The train was moving again, he could feel it as he lay on the floor of the compartment, the lights above him were almost painfully bright and he was aware that there were several concerned faces hovering above him. Ron and Hermione helped him back onto his seat and he noticed how very pale they looked. It seemed that he wasn't the only one affected by the creatures that had suddenly shown up.

"Are you okay?" Ron asked with concern.

"Yeah," Harry responded numbly. "What happened? Where's that - that thing? Who screamed?"

At his last question, his friends looked at each other nervously.

"No one screamed," Ron told him.

Harry was sure there was a mistake. It had been so clear and loud, how could they not have heard the woman, crying out for help? A loud snapping noise made them all jump, and they turned to the only adult amongst them. Professor Lupin was awake and breaking up a very large piece of chocolate.

"Here," he said, passing out the chocolate. "Eat it, it'll help."

Harry looked at his piece of chocolate, not really in the mood for sweets.

"What was that thing?" he asked again.

"A dementor," Lupin answered with a faint frown. "One of the dementors of Azkaban."

If those things were kept in the wizarding prison, then Harry could see why even Hagrid, one of the bravest people he knew, was afraid of the place.

"Eat," Lupin said as he stood, the crumpled up wrapper of the chocolate now in his pocket. "It'll help. I'll go speak to the driver, please stay here."

Harry noticed he glanced at Mira for a moment, as if telling her to stay with them, but she seemed in pretty bad shape as well. She was even paler than usual and there was a somewhat distressed look on her face. Still, she looked up at Lupin as he left, as if reassuring him that she would keep an eye on things.

"Are you sure you're okay, Harry?" Asked Hermione from across from him.

"Yeah," he reassured her. "What happened?"

As Ron and Hermione explained to him what had happened, Harry noticed that Neville and Ginny were still in the compartment with them. Ginny was huddled in the corner, looking pretty bad as Hermione tried to comfort her. He wasn't happy to hear that he had been the only one to have passed out. At that moment, Professor Lupin returned.

"I haven't poisoned that chocolate, you know..." he said, and Harry, along with the others, took a bite.

The effect was almost instantaneous. He could feel a comforting warmth spreading throughout his numb body.

"We'll be there in ten minutes," Lupin told them, before turning to Harry. "Are you alright, Harry?"

Harry looked faintly surprised that Lupin knew his name, but then the embarrassment of passing out in front of a teacher pushed that back.

"I'm fine," he said, trying not to look at the others.

No one spoke during the remainder of the trip, the atmosphere too awkward to do so. It was more than that, though. The dementors had affected everyone and they were all still dealing with the memories and feelings that had resurfaced. Harry was still confused about the screaming woman he had heard, still not knowing what exactly it was that the dementors did. Mira was in bad shape too, but she had an idea of what the dementors had done. They were all still rather pale when they finally arrived at Hogwarts, but so were the other students around them. Harry felt bad for the first years. Having dementors board the train wasn't a good way to start off.

Hagrid could be seen above the sea of students, beckoning the first years towards him. Harry was glad to see his friend, but he wished he hadn't asked him if he was fine. He really just wanted to forget about the whole incident in the train. They waved at him, but moved on, not wanting to get in the way. Mira however, moved over to where Hagrid was.

"Mira, it's this way," Hermione told her kindly.

"I go with first years," she told her with a smile. "I need to get sorted, so I follow Hagrid."

"Oh! That's right, well, we'll see you at the feast then," Hermione said.

"Good luck," they called as they made their way to the carriages that would take them to the castle.

* * *

><p>Mira followed Hagrid to the boats they would be taking to the castle. It was too cold for that, she thought, but she supposed she could deal with a short trip up to the castle. The view from the lake was nice though, worth sitting in a small wooden boat with a giant squid below them. The castle appeared before them, standing imposingly over the lake, it's many windows shimmering with the cheery laugh inside. The awed voices of the first years around her was contagious, and Mira couldn't help but stare at the sight before her.<p>

They were greeted by Professor Flitwick, the tiny little charms Professor. He smiled warmly at the children before him and announced that they would be sorted soon. He left them in a room next to the Great Hall, telling them he would let them out shortly to be sorted. Nervous chatter broke out as soon as he was gone, only disrupted by the ghosts introducing themselves to the first years. They barged through the walls, sweeping over the terrified first years. Mira remembered she had nearly had a heart attack the first time she had seen them and sympathized with the younger kids. Luckily, Professor Flitwick returned not long after, asking the first years to line up and follow him out.

"Oh, not you, Miss Miyake. The Headmaster asks that you wait here for a bit longer," he said.

Mira nodded and stayed behind, ignoring the curious looks the others were giving her. She was left alone in the spacious room, free to wonder where she would be placed. While she was trying to learn the basics of magic, she had asked about the houses. The four sounded like they valued good traits, but she knew she wouldn't be a Slytherin, she wasn't very cunning and neither was she ambitious. As sad as it was, she would admit that she wasn't smart enough to go to Ravenclaw either, so that left Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. Mira was betting on Hufflepuff, and she was glad of it, really. She had always thought of herself as being pretty loyal. Suddenly, she heard her name being called and so she opened the door, glad to be able to step out of the room.

There were more students than she had first thought and she felt a bit nervous as she walked towards the stool upon which an old hat rested. Professor Flitwick was there, waiting for her and Dumbledore was still standing, waiting for her to be sorted. Mira could feel everyone's eyes on her, and she took a quick look at the Gryffindor table. It wasn't hard to spot Ron's bright red hair or Hermione's bushy mane. Between the two was Harry, watching with as much curiosity as the rest of the hall.

Mira sat on the stool and felt the hat being placed on her head. She hadn't actually been told how she would be sorted, as the teachers seemed to want it to remain a surprise. She was wondering what would happen next, when a voice echoed in her head.

"What do we have here?"

Mira had to try very hard not to jump.

"Hmm, well, you're not exactly and exchange student, are you?" the voice sounded amused.

"Mr. hat?" she wondered.

"Yes, that's right girl, now let's see. Oh, interesting, very interesting, so that's why you're so odd," the hat said, more to himself than to Mira.

Mira suspected that the hat had found out about who she really was. She certainly hoped he wouldn't mention anything.

"Not to worry, my job is only to sort you. Now let's see what qualities lie within you. I see...hmm, yes, you're an interesting one, good mind, though maybe you don't use it enough," the hat said, making Mira huff in indignation. She knew she wasn't the brightest, but hearing it said like that was a bit much. "No, best not be Ravenclaw. I can see you're not the cunning type, and not much ambition. Yes, you're certainly a sneaky one, but you don't think things through do you?"

"Okay, so I stupid, we establish that," she snapped, her cheeks heating up at being called dumb by a _hat _of all things_._

"Yes, very impatient as well. Alright then, that leaves Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. Loyalty is certainly something you value highly, but I also see a lot of bravery in you, yes. Difficult..." the hat was silent for a while and Mira wondered if she had broken it or something. "Ah, I see, not the hardworking type, are you?"

Mira didn't answer for fear of insulting the hat. It seemed like it just loved picking on her.

"Alright then, best be...GRYFFINDOR!"

Mira sighed in relief and removed the hat, happily making her way to the table adorned in red. There was loud cheering from the Gryffindors and polite clapping from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Slytherin was the only table that did not seem to care. Actually, Mira thought they looked at her in a sort of hostile way, but then maybe they were just a sour bunch. She took a seat next to Hermione and grinned as she congratulated her along with the others. However, the hall grew quiet a moment later, as Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"Now that everyone has been sorted, I have a few things to say to you all, and as one is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast..."

Everyone listened attentively as Dumbledore spoke. The news of the dementors being stationed at Hogwarts was met with a tense silence and Mira could tell that even Dumbledore was not happy. She didn't blame him, those things could not be good to have around children and there was something off about them, something she didn't like at all.

Professor Lupin was introduced next and there was some polite applause at that. It seemed that those who were on the train with him were the most welcoming. Lupin, however, seemed happy enough. When Hagrid was introduced as the new Care of Magical Creatures teacher, though, the hall erupted into applause, the Gryffindor's being the loudest by far. Excited chattering broke out and Mira felt as happy for Hagrid as the rest of her new house.

"Well, I think that's everything of importance," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Let the feast begin!"

The golden plates and goblets were suddenly filled with food. Mountains of potatoes, piles of chicken and great big jugs of pumpkin juice. Mira felt her eyes widen, never having seen so much food. While she had stayed in teh castle she had been served by the house elves, but she had never been given so much to eat. As foreign as the food was to her, it all looked delicious and she began to pile food onto her plate. She barely had enough room in her stomach for dessert, but she loved sweets and junk food just enough to take at least one helping of each.

The feast was over not long after she had managed to get down one last bit of tart and the students began to file out of the hall, following the prefects. Mira wanted nothing more than to get to bed, but the trio next to her wanted to congratulate Hagrid, a sentiment she could understand. And so it was that she followed them those few extra feet to the teachers' table and congratulated Hagrid along with them. It was evident that the position meant a lot to him, as he promptly broke down in tears. They were quickly shooed away from the hall by Professor McGonagall.

The rest of their house was already in front of a portrait of a rather fat lady in a pink dress. Mira wondered what they were doing there, but Percy, Ron's older brother and Gryffindor prefect, moved to the front.

"The new password's 'Fortuna Major'," he said.

The portrait swung open and they all walked into a comfortable looking room, with a fire blazing on one side, surrounded by large armchairs. The whole room looked cheery and welcoming and the warmth of the fire made Mira sleepier still. It was with relief that she followed Hermione to their dormitory after bidding goodnight to the boys. She didn't even notice that her things had been moved already as she dressed in a sort of trance. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out, which was a good thing. Her first day at Hogwarts would certainly be eventful.

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><p><strong>I know this chapter's shorter, but I didn't have as much time today. Still, I thought it would be nice to update and thank you for your support. As always, thanks for reading and reviewing. I appreciate all the people that add me to their favorites, alerts or communities. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, even if it was close to the book. It'll deviate soon enough. Please review if you have the chance and I hope you stick around for the next chapter.<br>**

**Thank you for reading and until next time!**


	5. Chapter 5: Mission Start

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or any elements belonging to the Harry Potter series. All Harry Potter related content is the sole property of J.K. Rowling. Any OCs and unfamiliar concepts are mine.

**I hope you enjoy this chapter, to those of you who enjoyed the previous one and thank you for coming back to read. Please, if you find the time, review and tell me what you think. To those who have added this story to their favorites/alerts, thank you.  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Five: Mission Start<br>**

The first morning of the term did not start well. Draco Malfoy could be seen re-enacting Harry's first time seeing a dementor. The group of Slytherins gathered around him howled in amusement.

"Ignore him," said Hermione from behind Harry. "It's not worth it."

"Yes, you much more brave than him," Mira agreed.

Harry gave the girls a weak smile, but he couldn't deny that it bothered him. He still wondered why no one else had fainted at the sight of the dementors, why no one else had heard the screaming.

It did make him feel a bit better when he realized that Malfoy wouldn't be so cocky when he faced Harry in the Quidditch pitch. He couldn't feel but feel grateful to Fred and George for reminding him of that. Harry was faintly aware of Ron and Hermione arguing( something about messed up class schedules). He looked down at his own time table and noticed that he would be starting his new subjects that day.

"What classes have you chosen?" Harry asked Mira curiously. He suspected that she would be taking the same classes as him since she was supposed to keep an eye on him.

"Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes," she answered with a faint smirk. Apparently she knew that Harry would expect her to tail him all day and too great joy in proving him wrong. "You have Divination, yes?"

Harry nodded.

"First class of the day," he said, the looked at her curiously. "Why did you choose Ancient Runes?" It was something that struck Harry as odd seeing as the class seemed like a challenging one. It would be even harder for Mira who was still trying to learn English properly. "Wouldn't Divination be easier?"

"I not believe in future("Fortune," Harry corrected) telling and Runes sound interesting," she explained. "Maybe they help going back home."

Harry nodded in understanding. He had no idea of how inter-dimensional portals worked, but it seemed reasonable to assume that runes would play a part in them. Now that he thought about it, Mira had mentioned on the train that complex portals sometimes required runes, at least the first time they were opened. If Mira learned enough, it might help her find a way back home. That, Harry mused, would definitely serve as a good motivator to do well in that class.

And so it was that, after eating breakfast, the four Gryffindors split up with Harry, Ron and Hermione heading off to the North Tower for Divination. Harry was curious as to what the class would be like. He had never really taken an interest in anything having to do with fortune telling, but he supposed it could come in useful. And even if didn't actually work, it was still an easy class.

By the end of the lesson, However, Harry didn't really care how easy a class it was, it was simply unbearable. The teacher, Professor Trelawney, was nothing short of mad. Harry thought that he could have put up with the heavy perfume and overly dramatic teacher, but having Trelawney predict his untimely demise was a bit much.

They met up with Mia halfway to McGonagall's class, and if she noticed anything strange with the way her classmates were acting, she didn't mention it. Harry was glad that there was at least one person not acting like he would snuff it at any given moment.

Once they had reached their class, they chose seats near the back. Harry didn't want to sit in class and feel the pitying stares of his classmates stuck on his back. They really were over-reacting, he thought, but he couldn't deny that he was feeling uneasy as well. He did feel a little better after hearing what McGonagall had to say about Trelawney's prediction.

Of course, Ron was still uneasy about the whole issue with the Grim. Hermione tried to get him to stop worrying, but it was no use.

"What's a Grim?" Mira asked curiously from her seat next to Hermione.

"It's an omen of death," Ron said gravely. "Whoever sees it is bound to die," he finished, not noticing the way Hermione rolled her eyes.

"What's it look like?"

"A big black dog."

Mira blinked and looked at Harry.

"Wasn't it near us?" she asked him. "When bus come."

It took Harry a moment to realize what she was talking about.

"That's right," he said thoughtfully.

"You've seen it?" Ron asked in alarm.

"Yeah," Harry confirmed with a nod. "The night I left the Dursleys and met Mira. There was this black dog hiding in an alley right before the Knight bus showed up. I had forgotten about that," he admitted.

If anything, Ron paled even more at hearing this.

"Oh, honestly," said Hermione. "It was probably just a stray," she observed calmly, though she cast an irritated look at Ron.

Both Harry and Mira seemed to agree with this, but Ron didn't seem convinced in the least. In fact, it looked like he was ready to argue his point further and, perhaps, a bit more fiercely.

"I not understand," Mira said calmly. "Why the Grim scary?"

Ron looked at her like she was crazy.

"It's an omen of _death_!" he exclaimed as if that was reason enough to cower in fear at its mention. "My uncle Billius saw one and he died twenty-four hours later," he finished with a nervous glance at Harry, as if expecting him to kick the bucket at any moment.

Mira just stared at him blankly for a moment before returning to her stew.

"Least you get warning," she shrugged.

"Wha-, you-...At least you get a warning!" Ron spluttered. "Aren't you worried? You saw it too right?"

"Yes, but I not scared," she explained calmly. "Death natural, yes? I die when I supposed to, not before."

In response, Ron could only stare, now almost positive she was mad. Hermione tried not to laugh at the look on his face while Harry looked at Mira curiously. With all that she had told him about the world she had come from, he wondered where she had gotten her views on death. It wasn't that he disagreed, actually, he thought she was right, but it was just an odd thing to say.

Now accepting the fact that Mira wouldn't be changing her mind any time soon, Ron turned to Hermione, insisting on the veracity of the Grim. Needless to say, Hermione remained unconvinced and refused to speak to Ron after he had pointed out that the reason she disliked Divination, and all that had to do with it, was because she was bad at it. Harry was just glad he still had Mira to talk to, even if her English still wasn't perfect.

It was nice to get out of the castle for a while, and Harry was curious about Care of Magical Creatures. He knew how much the class meant to Hagrid and he wanted everything to go well on his first lesson. Unfortunately, they would be having that class with the Slytherins, something that was sure to end badly. Sure enough, Malfoy began to complain as soon as class began. Harry hadn't been amused by the biting book required for class, but he still didn't want to hear Malfoy insulting Hagrid.

"Shut up, Malfoy," Harry said for the second time since class had started. It was amazing how quickly Malfoy could annoy him. He was about to say more, but he was interrupted by a squeal of surprise from Lavender Brown.

It seemed that Hagrid was back from getting the creatures they would be working on. With him, there were a dozen creatures that seemed to have the head and front half of an eagle and the other half was of a horse. They were great in size with large wings and sharp looking beaks. With keen eyes of an intense shade of orange, they observed the class of young wizards. They were both interesting and terrifying as they stood there menacingly with large leather collars attached to thick chains that were held firmly by Hagrid.

Hippogriffs, Hagrid had called them, just before he asked the class to step forward. The vast majority looked apprehensive, and Harry couldn't blame them. Those talons sure looked sharp. It was only due to the strong feelings of affection they felt towards Hagrid that he, along with Ron and Hermione, stepped forward. Harry suspected that Mira only followed because she couldn't really stand back while he was mauled by an angry hippogriff. He was pretty sure she wouldn't be doing a good job in protecting him then.

It was not long after that Harry found himself standing in front of a hippogriff by himself. He had been the only one brave enough(or was it stupid enough?) to volunteer to get closer and attempt to gain the beast's approval by bowing. Idly, he wondered why no one had stopped him. If Mira wanted to protect him, it would have been a good idea to keep him away from potentially deadly magical creatures.

"Easy now, Harry," Hagrid instructed quietly. "Yeh've got eye contact, now try not ter blink...Hippogriffs don' trust yeh if yeh blink too much..."

Not wanting to be on the receiving end of those sharp talons, Harry did all he could to keep his watering eyes from blinking.

"That's it," said Hagrid. "That's it. Harry...now bow..."

Nervously, Harry did so, before looking back up at the gray hippogriff. When the creature didn't bow back, Hagrid warned him to move back slowly in a worried voice. Harry was about to comply when, to his surprise, the hippogriff bowed back. He thought he heard someone sigh in relief behind him, probably one of his friends. The relief didn't last long.

"Righ' then, Harry," Hagrid said as Harry pet the hippogriff's beak awkwardly. "I reckon he might' let yeh ride him."

Harry wanted to protest, but before he knew it, he was sitting on top of the large beast. Without warning, it took off after being slapped on it's hind-quarters by Hagrid. He saw his friends' uneasy looks and Mira's rather pale face watching him fly away.

* * *

><p>Back on the ground, Mira was, in fact, having a slight panic attack. Her charge, the boy she was supposed to keep out of danger, had just taken off on the back of what appeared to be a rather fierce creature and was now several feet above them, hanging on for dear life. There were just so many things that could go horribly, <em>horribly<em> wrong that it wasn't even funny. Seeing the distress on her face, Hermione placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, and offered her a small smile.

"He'll be fine," she said reassuringly.

Mira didn't have much choice, but to take her word for it. There really wasn't a lot she could do when he was off the ground anyway and she wasn't supposed to let others know about her little mission. The only reason she had allowed Harry to tell Ron and Hermione was because he had assured her that they could be trusted. Besides, as Harry's best friends, Mira would also do her best to keep them safe.

With a nod, and an uneasy smile to Hermione, Mira waited for Harry to land. She glanced around at the rest of the class. Most of the others were watching Harry with interest. It was only Malfoy and his followers that had sour looks on their faces. Mira reminded herself to keep an eye on them. Ever since their meeting on the train she had known they would be troublesome, especially Malfoy. He appeared to have some sort of rivalry with Harry, most likely stemming from jealousy. Mira knew that could be dangerous.

Finally, Harry landed, and Mira noticed that he seemed to be very glad to be back on land. At least she wouldn't have to worry about him stealing a hippogriff to fly around the school.

"That wasn't so bad," Harry said once he had reached his friends. "I might want to try it again."

"What? You can't-!"

Harry grinned at Mira's panicked exclamations. In response, she huffed indignantly and gave him a weak glare.

"Don't worry, I won't be flying on a hippogriff again any time soon," Harry said with a smile.

"Good, or I tie you down," Mira threatened lightly while Ron and Hermione practiced with a chestnut colored hippogriff. It seemed that the class was a lot more eager to try after witnessing Harry's success.

Malfoy and his cronies had taken Buckbeak, the hippogriff Harry had ridden, to practice on. Mira was keeping an eye on them, even as she pet the chestnut hippogriff that had just hesitantly bowed to her. It was a good thing she was paying attention, too.

She didn't know what had happened(though she knew it was somehow Malfoy's fault), but the hippogriff moved forward, as if to charge, and it's deadly talons raised off the ground. It was only thanks to her quick reflexes, refined through years of fighting, that she managed to put up a shield to separate Malfoy and Buckbeak. Malfoy fell back in fright, saved from injury by the dark barrier before him though which he could still see and enraged hippogriff being held back by Hagrid.

Mira hadn't used magic, not knowing any shield charms nor being quick enough with her wand. She had acted mostly on instinct, falling back to her own form of defense in the face of danger. She knew she had made a mistake when she heard the low whispering and felt curious stares. She wasn't supposed to let them see what she could do, no matter how small a demonstration it was. Only Harry, Dumbledore and a few select teachers had seen even a fraction of what she could do.

Once she was certain that Hagrid wouldn't let the angry hippogriff reach Malfoy(even though she really wouldn't have minded), she dropped the shield and moved back towards Harry and his friends. She ignored the looks her classmates were giving her.

"Tha-that beast attacked me!" Malfoy wailed dramatically. "It tried to kill me!"

"'Course not, Buckbeak wouldn't- he was just startled," Hagrid began, pale faced.

Pansy Parkinson was fretting over Malfoy, asking him if he wanted to go to the hospital wing. Mira rolled her eyes at the Slitherins' theatrics. With a small, resigned sigh, she approached Malfoy and Pansy. The two looked up at her haughtily, Pansy glaring slightly with Malfoy seeming apprehensive. Behind them, Crabbe and Goyle tried to look as menacing as possible. She supposed it would have worked better if they didn't always look so stupid.

"I stop Buckbeak before he hurt you. You don't need hospital wing," she told Malfoy with a frown. "Unless you delicate."

There was a scowl on Malfoy's face now, as he looked at Mira. The Gryffindors were laughing animatedly at hearing Malfoy being mocked, and Malfoy knew if he went to the hospital wing, he would be made fun of even more. It was all a game of pride, after all.

"I didn't need your help you," he hissed viciously, just low enough that only Mira heard it. "If you think I owe you something -"

"You not owe me," Mira interrupted calmly. "Just stay out of way."

Draco was seething as he turned and stormed off towards the castle. Harry, Ron and Hermione walked over to Mira, the boys still grinning widely. Hermione, however, was looking at her curiously, and Mira knew she was full of questions.

"That was brilliant!" Ron said happily. "Malfoy's face was priceless."

"I not want Hagrid to be trouble," she said simply, following them to the castle.

"Yeah, and Malfoy was probably going to make a big deal about it and get Hagrid in trouble. It's a good thing you didn't let that happen," Harry told her, grateful that his friend wouldn't have to worry about an injured Malfoy crying to his father.

"What was that, though?" Hermione asked curiously. "I've never even heard of a shield charm like that one and you didn't even use your wand."

Mira knew Hermione would ask that, she had just hoped it wouldn't be that soon. She didn't really want to say too much about her abilities because that would just lead to more questions about her world and job and she would rather not have to explain that yet. She knew she was being childish, but she'd hate it if they all began to look at her with distrust. Still, she had to tell them something, and Harry already knew some of what she could do.

"I use - uh - special ability," she explained uncertainly. "It from other world, not magic."

"Oh, can other people in your world do that?"

Mira shook her head.

"Some people have different ability, very little. I only one with this one."

Hermione's brow furrowed in thought.

"Only a few people and you're the only one with this particular power?" she said. "What do you do with it?"

"Harry, seeing how uncomfortable Mira looked, decided to help.

"Maybe we shouldn't talk about this here," he told Hermione. "Mira's not supposed to tell people anything about where she's from. You guys shouldn't even know why she's at Hogwarts."

Hearing this, Hermione relented, but she would most likely ask again later. Mira gave Harry a grateful look at which he nodded with a small smile. It seemed that he would have to protect _her _from Hermione.

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><p><strong>I hope you liked this chapter. I thought I'd post it since the last one was kind of short. I'll get the next one out when I get the chance to type it up.<strong>

**Thanks for adding my story to your alerts, favorites and communities. Please review if you get the chance, I'd really like to know what you think. I'll probably only write the third book and then stop if I don't get any feedback. Hopefully, I'll be out of my block by then and I can move on to my original stories. If I get a few more reviews, I'll continue, but there's really no point if no one really reads. **

**Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Until next time!**


	6. Chapter 6: Boggarts and Time Travel

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or any elements belonging to the Harry Potter series. All Harry Potter related content is the sole property of J.K. Rowling. Any OCs and unfamiliar concepts are mine.

**I hope you enjoy this chapter, to those of you who enjoyed the previous one and thank you for coming back to read. Please, if you find the time, review and tell me what you think. To those who have added this story to their favorites/alerts, thank you.  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Six: Boggarts and Time Travel<br>**

Malfoy was particularly bitter in the days following their first Care of Magical Creatures class. Harry had learned that, for once, he hadn't complained to his father. It was a good thing too since Lucius, Malfoy's father, would most certainly be able to make Hagrid miserable. Harry was glad that Mira had managed to prevent Buckbeak from hurting Malfoy. She seemed happy about that as well, even with all the curious looks the other students gave her.

The Gryffindors had accepted her peculiar abilities as a foreign type of magic and both Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were starting to believe that to be the truth. Only the Slytherins kept giving her strange looks, hostile and sometimes seemingly accusing her of something. Mira didn't pay much attention though, more concerned with catching up on her work than with what the Slytherins had to say. It was a good thing too, since she would need to work as hard as she could to pass potions.

They had discovered during their first potions lesson that Mira was abysmal in the subject. She had somehow managed to give her Shrinking Solution the same consistence as drying cement. It would have been more amusing if Snape hadn't threatened to dock one hundred points from Gryffindor is she didn't manage to improve by the next lesson. Luckily, Mira hadn't reacted to Snape's insults so only twenty-five points were deducted for her bad potion. She was making good progress too, with the help of Hermione.

Fortunately for Mira(and the Gryffindors who wanted to win the house cup), she wasn't nearly as bad in the other classes. She was particularly good with Herbology, but she said that was because a friend of hers, who was very interested in plants, often asked for her help.

"Maybe I should be Hufflepuff," she said thoughtfully one day during lunch.

"Why would you want to be in Hufflepuff?" Ron asked incredulously.

"Don't know," Mira shrugged. "Seems like good house. Hat wanted me there," she revealed.

"Did it really?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Yes, it say I loyal, but not very hard working," Mira responded with a grin.

Harry couldn't help but snort at the comment.

"It got that much right. It's barely the first week and you're already behind on work," he pointed out.

Mira shot him a weak glare.

"I catch up soon," she muttered. "language so confusing."

The two boys laughed while Hermione shot them a reproachful, yet amused, look.

"I'll look over your work once you're done," she offered, earning a grin from Mira.

"Thank you," she said happily, turning back to her food.

Hermione smiled a bit and then turned to the boys.

"Have you heard from Hagrid?" she asked.

"No, but I don't think he's gotten into any trouble because of Malfoy," Harry informed her. "Maybe we should visit him later.

"The other two agreed and , after finishing up their lunch, made their way to their next class, Defense Against the Dark Arts. Everyone was excited to see what the class was like after Professor Lupin's display of skill on the train. It looked like they would finally have a teacher who knew the subject, but Harry tried not to get his hopes up. The last two years hadn't been too good, after all. Even so, Mira had told them that Lupin was a good teacher. She described him and kind and patient, a responsible teacher, but someone who still knew hot to teach without putting the class to sleep. Harry and Ron thought it sounded too good to be true.

Professor Lupin wasn't in the room when they arrived, but he definitely looked better when he finally showed up. He looked far healthier than the last time they had seen him. He smiled at the students in a way that Harry thought seemed vaguely familiar.

"Good afternoon," he greeted them pleasantly. "Please put all your books away. Today's class will be a practical one. You'll need only your wands."

It was the first practical Defense class Harry could recall. He, along with the rest of the class, did as told with mounting interest. They followed Lupin out the class and to the staffroom, stopping only for a moment during which Lupin successfully drove Peeves away. It was a rather impressive accomplishment, actually. After an unpleasant run-in with Snape, Lupin revealed what it was that they were doing there.

"Nothing to worry about," Lupin said calmly, referring to the wardrobe currently banging off the wall. "There's a boggart in there."

Judging by the apprehensive looks the rest of the class was giving the wardrobe, there was a very good reason to worry. Harry, however, didn't know why they were worried until Lupin explained what a boggart was.

They were shape-shifters. Boggarts usually resided in dark and enclosed spaces, like closets, cupboards and wardrobes. If a witch or wizard stumbled upon one, the boggart would take on the shape of the thing that frightened them most. Apparently, no one really knew what their true form was. It was all easy enough for Harry to understand, and he even managed to answer a question correctly.

Professor Lupin then proceeded to teach them the charm used to ward off boggarts, riddikulus. Harry noted that Mira was having trouble with the pronunciation, but she got it right eventually.

Lupin then asked them all to picture the thing that scared them the most and then to think of how to give if a humorous spin. Harry wondered what his greatest fear was. Voldemort was the easiest answer, but Harry knew him to be a mere shadow of his former self, something that wasn't as scary as it was pitiful. So then, what did he fear?

Then, quite suddenly, the memory of a tall hooded figure, the glistening rotting skin of a gray hand and the rattling breath from a mouth hidden away, popped into his mind. He could almost feel the cold, so intense it felt like it reached down to his very bones. With a shudder, Harry pushed those thoughts away, though at least now he knew what it was that he feared the most.

Curiously, he looked around at the others, wondering what it was that his friends were afraid of. It wasn't hard to guess what Ron feared, not when he was muttering about removing legs from something. But what about Hermione? For a moment Harry thought about bad grades, but he stifled that thought before he could start laughing at the image of Hermione running from a bad essay. His thoughts turned to Mira, what could she fear the most? She was from an unknown world, a world in which monsters were real, but if she fought them so frequently, would she really fear them? Would some kind of demon really walk out of that wardrobe when Mira stood before it? Harry didn't think so.

He knew she didn't fear the same things other people were afraid of. She wasn't scared by death and she didn't seem worried about the prospect of facing a fully grown wizard who had escaped from the prison he was locked up in for murdering more than a dozen innocent people. But then, Harry supposed that, by that logic, he should fear Black too. In the end, Harry resolved that a person's true fear wasn't always so obvious. He didn't have time to think more on this as Professor Lupin asked them to prepare themselves to face the boggart.

The first one to step forwards was Neville. It wasn't a great surprise to learn that he feared Snape the most. It just served as a testament of how badly the potion master's lessons affected Neville. Still, it was amusing to see Snape dressed in an old woman's clothing. Everyone burst into laughter at the sight of Snape in a green dress and vulture-topped hat, a big red handbag clutched tightly. Harry tied to commit the image to memory, and he was sure Ron was trying to the same next to him.

The next one to face the boggart was Parvati Patil, who was followed by Seamus and then Dean.

"Excellent! Mira!" Lupin called, and the girl stepped forward.

The boggart switched from a severed hand caught in a mousetrap to a sort of dark mist. Suddenly, the lighting dimmed, as if the sunlight had been blocked off by dark clouds. The smoky substance swirled and darkened, growing taller and taking form until a dark silhouette stood before Mira. Her face was pale and her hand was curled tightly around her wand. The figure extended its arm, more of the strange dark smoke gathering in its hand. taking on a thin and long shape.

"_Riddikulus!_"

The figure turned into a shadow puppet that looked like a sort of bunny, at least Harry thought so.

"Ron, you next!"

Ron stepped forward, a curious look still on his face.

_Crack!_

The shadow puppet was gone, and in its place stood a giant spider. Its body was covered in short and bristly hair, its many eyes black and beady, a sort of hungry look in them. The clicking of its pincers seemed to echo off the walls and it moved forward menacingly. Its great legs moving in a way that, Harry had to admit, was fairly creepy.

_"Riddiculus!" _Ron said in a determined voice, and the spider's legs disappeared, making its body roll over and directly towards Harry.

He was ready, his wand raised and waiting for it to change so that he could cast the charm, but Harry was stopped by Professor Lupin. He hurried over, calling out to gain the boggart's attention. The class only had a quick glimpse of a silvery orb floating in front of Lupin before he cast the charm and them called Neville to finish off the boggart. With Neville's call of _"Riddikulus!" _and a triunphant laugh, the boggart exploded and became nothing but smoke that was blown away only a moment later.

The class ended after Lupin had awarded points to those who had faced the boggart. Harry tried to protest when he was given points as well, but Lupin waved it off, saying he earned them by answering a question correctly. Everyone spoke excitedly as they left the class, commenting on how good the lesson had been.

Harry agreed, though he was curious as to why he hadn't been allowed a chance to face the boggart.

"That was the best Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson we've ever had, wasn't it?" Ron commented with a grin.

"He seems like a good teacher, though I wish I could have had a turn with the boggart," Hermione said with a small frown, obviously having wanted to prove herself.

"What would it have been for you? A piece of homework that only got a nine out of ten?" Ron asked amidst laughs.

Hermione shot him a reproachful look, but Harry was wondering if maybe Ron was right. Not that he was fool enough to voice his thoughts. Instead, of listening to his two friends argue, he looked over at Mira. She was being very quiet and he noticed that she still looked rather pale.

"Are you alright?" he asked, raising an eyebrow when she jumped a bit. Still, she looked at him and gave him a weak smile.

"Yes, I fine," Mira answered easily. "Just tired," she added at Harry's skeptical look.

Harry still wasn't convinced, but he let it go. He could always wait until later to get the truth out of her.

* * *

><p>The days following Professor Lupin's first lesson were normal enough in Hogwarts. Defense Against the Dark arts had rapidly become a class that most looked forward to. Lupin taught them to fight off creatures such as red caps and kappas. His classes were always fun and interesting and most found them to be their favorite. It was only the Slytherins that seemed dissatisfied with Lupin, but no one paid them any attention.<p>

The rest of Harry's classes seemed to be normal enough as well. Snape was tormenting people more than usual, particularly Neville, but that was only to be expected after word got out about Neville's boggart. Divination was, as always, a complete and utter joke. Though this didn't mean Harry was any less irritated with Trelawney and her ominous predictions about him. Care of Magical Creatures was, sadly, not very good.

They had found out while visiting Hagrid, that he had decided to take the safe route after the incident with Buckbeak. While he was relieved that he hadn't been sacked because of Malfoy, he didn't want to risk losing the job he loved so much. And so, their new topic in class were flobberworms. Mira was horrified to hear she would have to spend hours stuffing lettuce down a worm's slimy throat. Apparently, she was not very fond of things that crawled or slithered. At the very least, though, it was a class in which she didn't have to use her wand.

Harry, Ron and Hermione had realized very quickly that Mira was still not used to magic. She usually managed to make spells work, but she had to practice more than others. Harry suspected it was because magic wasn't something that came naturally to her, but he wasn't sure of that. Really, he didn't even know how it was that she could even use magic, so he asked her one night while they were sitting int he common room.

"I use same energy from other magic," she told him, referring to her own natural abilities as 'other magic'. They figured it was the best way to talk about her abilities without gaining unwanted attention. "It difficult," she admitted. "Energy different, so I think how much I need and put it in wand. Sometimes I use too little, so spell not work."

Hermione looked at her thoughtfully.

"So you have to figure out how much power to put into the spell to make it work and then you focus it into your wand," she said, and Mira nodded in approval.

"I can see how that would be difficult, especially if you need to cast a spell quickly. Does it become easier with time?"

"It easier after practice," Mira admitted. "Comes more naturally. That why I practice lots, but it better to use other magic in emergency."

"Do you think we can learn your magic?" Ron asked eagerly.

Mira shook her head.

"It very difficult, even if it natural. My magic come from - uh - inside," she didn't really know what to call it, Harry noted. "Need lots of practice to control," she explained, to Ron's chagrin.

"But it's still possible, isn't it?" Ron insisted.

"Sorry, I can't teach, too dangerous."

"I bet we could learn, you just don't want us to," Ron protested hotly.

"Ron!" Hermione chastised.

Harry, sensing danger, quickly changed the topic.

"Hey, how come you got mad when I asked you if you were a witch when we were in the Knight Bus?"

Mira looked at him, confused. Ron and Hermione just stared at them curiously.

"Oh!" Mira exclaimed, apparently having recalled what Harry was talking about.

"Friend always pick on me. He call me witch. I think you pick on me too so I get - uh - upset."

Harry and Hermione seemed to understand, but Ron still looked confused.

"Why would being a witch be a bad thing?" he asked.

"Ron, there aren't any where she's from," Hermione pointed out in a low voice so that no one would overhear. "Because she didn't now witches and wizards were real in our world she's like a muggle born. Being a witch is usually an insult for muggles because they think witches are evil and rather ugly."

Ron snorted at what he thought was a ridiculous idea.

"Muggles are weird,"

Harry and Hermione just gave him amused looks.

"Hey, won't your friends worry when they notice you're missing?" Ron asked Mira.

"I think," she answered, sighing rather dejectedly. "Maybe they not know I gone."

Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at each other, bemused. Then, they looked back at Mira.

"Why wouldn't they know?" Hermione asked gently.

"They must know you're gone by now. It's been nearly a month since you arrived." Harry added.

"I know, but maybe time different."

The three friends looked at Mira for a moment, not really clear on what she meant. As expected, Hermione was the first to understand.

"Of course!" she said, not without excitement. "There's no way to know if time in your world flows at the same pace as in ours."

Harry thought he knew what Hermione was saying, but was still glad when Ron asked her what she meant.

"Well, if her world is in a new dimension, then the pace at which time passes could be different. A year here could be an hour there or it could even be the other way around. If that's true, then it's possible that her friends don't know she's missing yet."

"Because she may have disappeared from her world only a moment ago," Harry said, now understanding perfectly what Hermione was saying.

"But then, if they don't know she's gone they won't be doing anything to get her back," Ron said.

"Yes, I could be here for long," Mira agreed miserably.

The other three gave her sympathetic looks. Harry knew it must be hard to be stuck in a place, not knowing when, if ever, you would get to see your friends again. He hoped he was never in that kind of situation, and he hoped Mira did find her way back home soon. Then, he remembered something else he had been meaning to ask her.

"When we were in the bus, you asked me what the year was, why?"

"I know something not right, I land in different place, so I think maybe it different time too."

"Is it?" asked Hermione.

With a small frown, Mira nodded.

"What year was it in your world?"

"It year 2010."

The other three just sat there in a sort of stunned silence for a moment.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, there you have another chapter. I've written up a fair bit more, but I still have to type it up. <strong>

**Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed it and that you stick around for the next chapter. Thanks to all those who have supported this story thus far and please review if you get that chance.**


	7. Chapter 7: Teacher Troubles

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or any elements belonging to the Harry Potter series. All Harry Potter related content is the sole property of J.K. Rowling. Any OCs and unfamiliar concepts are mine.

**I hope you enjoy this chapter, to those of you who enjoyed the previous one and thank you for coming back to read. Please, if you find the time, review and tell me what you think. To those who have added this story to their favorites/alerts, thank you.  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Seven: Teacher Troubles<br>**

Mira's world hadn't been discussed again after that night in which she had revealed the difference in time between her world and the world in which she had landed. It wasn't just that it was hard to find a time and place to talk without being overheard, but also that their classes kept them occupied.

Hermione was busy with her classes, as she was currently taking them all. How she was doing it, they had yet to find out, even though Ron was rather persistent about it. She would sometimes help Mira with her work, but Mira usually declined her offers for air, not wanting to take advantage of Hermione. Harry thought she really should let Hermione help her, as she was still having trouble keeping up with her work. Harry and Ron weren't struggling as much as the girls, but their habit of procrastinating meant their homework just kept piling on. Apart from that, the Quidditch season was fast approaching.

As was to be expected, Mira was quite confused when Quidditch was first mentioned. Even though she had spent more than a month in Hogwarts, she was still unfamiliar with many of the concepts of magic. And so it was that Quidditch had been explained to her by Harry and a rather enthusiastic Ron. At first, she had looked at them in disbelief, not accepting that there was such a sport, but the she had paled and turned to Harry in a panic. Harry supposed he wouldn't be too happy either if the person he was protecting told him they played the riskiest position in a dangerous sport played high off the ground on a broomstick.

Since then, she had insisted on accompanying Harry to Quidditch practice all three nights a week. She seemed so determined, he didn't even try to stop her. He figured she would give up soon enough, and not without reason. The nights were darker and colder, with chilling winds and sometimes, even rain. However, Mira proved to be more tenacious than Harry had first thought.

Mira would sit in the stands, cloak pulled as close around her as possible, and watch the team practice. From time to time, her oddly colored eyes would scan the surrounding area for any sign of danger. There were times in which Harry thought she would go back to the castle, tired bored and too cold to care about what could happen to Harry. The first time Harry had thought she would leave was on a particularly cold night in which it had suddenly started to rain. He looked over to the stands, expecting to see Mira walking away, but was surprised to see her still there, holding a black umbrella he didn't remember seeing her with earlier. Thankfully, practice had ended not long after, and he made his way back to the castle with Mira.

"I don't remember you bringing an umbrella," Harry commented, as they walked across the lawn and to the castle.

"Not real umbrella," Mira said, grinning widely.

Upon closer inspection, Harry realized she was right. It was shaped like an umbrella, down to the last detail, but it was pitch black and comprised of the same material, even the part that should have been cloth. The umbrella was made out of the strange substance Mira could manipulate. As if to prove this, she made it expand a bit, to better cover them both.

"I didn't know you could do that," said Harry.

"I can do lots of things," Mira stated proudly.

Harry snorted.

"Except your homework," he teased.

Mira huffed indignantly, all too aware of the growing pile of work she would eventually have to try to tackle.

"You should probably work on that instead of coming here," Harry pointed out. "Hermione will have a fit when she finds out how behind you are on your work."

"So I not tell her," Mira shrugged. "I better("Rather," Harry corrected.") come here and keep eye on things."

Harry didn't bother to tell her that Hermione would probably find out on her own. He could tell Mira was in denial, but really, it was too amusing.

They were glad to finally get back to the castle. Its warm halls were welcoming and the torches burned merrily. Harry and Mira made their way to the common room, anxious to get some rest in their warm and comfortable beds. Harry was still cold from flying in the chilly night and Mira was a lot less appreciative of the country's weather.

They were slightly surprised to find the common room buzzing with activity when they entered, and quickly headed over to where Ron and Hermione sat by the fire.

"What's happened?" Harry asked them.

"First Hogsmeade weekend," Ron informed them. "End of October, Halloween."

Both Harry and Mira looked over at the new notice on the bulletin board that Ron had pointed out to them. Mira walked over to it to get a closer look and then took a seat next to Hermione.

"Harry, I'm sure you'll be able to go next time," Hermione told Harry, who looked rather depressed at the moment. "They're bound to catch Black soon. He's bee sighted once already."

Mira wasn't sure what to think about that, after all, Black had been on the run for quite some time. It looked like he was very good at hiding.

"Black's not fool enough to try anything in Hogsmeade," Ron said encouragingly. "Ask McGonagall if you can go this time, Harry. The next one might not be for ages-"

"Ron!" said Hermione. "Harry's supposed to stay _in school-_"

"He can't be the only third year left behind," Ron argued.

"I stay too," Mira pointed out, hoping to put an end to the bickering.

"Why?" asked Ron.

"Ron, Mira probably can't go because she doesn't have a guardian to sign her form," Hermione said quietly.

"No, I can go," Mira told them. "I just stay to finish work."

"What? How can you stay just to do work? It's the weekend, _Hogsmeade _weekend!" Ron exclaimed, bewildered.

"You don't have to stay because of me," Harry told Mira, with a frown. "I can take care of myself, go with Ron and Hermione."

"I know you can take care, that not why I stay. I stay to work," she insisted. "Maybe I go next time, yes?"

Harri didn't seem convinced, and probably would have argued further, if Crookshanks hadn't leaped into Hermione's lap, a dead spider held in it's mouth. It really was quite disgusting. Mira, not wanting to watch the cat eat the poor spider, hurried up to the girls' dormitory to get her bag. As much as she wanted to sleep, she had work to do. She really hadn't been lying when she told Harry she would rather stay and get some work done instead of going to Hogsmeade. At that moment, she was hoping for a quiet evening, doing homework by the fire, but that was not to be.

"Oy!" she heard Ron yell. "GET OFF YOU STUPID ANIMAL!"

She sprinted down the stairs, only to see Ron pulling his bag away from Crookshanks in a rather forceful manner. Scabbers, who was inside, flew out of the bag and Crookshanks was quick to follow.

"Catch that cat!" Ron bellowed, hurriedly following after Crookshanks.

The next few moments were pure chaos as the cat and rat ran around the common room. Some, like George Weasley, tried to catch Crookshanks, but it was no use. It was only when Scabbers hid under a chest of drawers that Hermione was able to pull her cat away, allowing Ron to get Scabbers.

"Look at him! He's skin and bone! You keep that cat away from him!" Ron shouted furiously.

Mira sighed at the two and walked over to where Harry was still sitting. They shared a look of exasperation and waited until Ron stomped out of the room to get back to work. Hermione was still upset, sot hey tried to get her mind off the argument.

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><p>Ron and Hermione were still rather upset the next morning. Ron kept snapping at Hermione whenever she asked him something and Harry wished they would just stop arguing. Unfortunately, it only got worse after Hermione told a crying Lavender Brown that Trelawney could not have predicted the death of her rabbit. Ron had, in his anger, sided with Lavender, something that clearly bothered Hermione. The two sat in Transfiguration, glaring at each other, after that.<p>

Harry tried to ignore them, he had other things to worry about. He had, after much deliberation, decided to ask McGonagall if he could go to Hogsmeade. He anxiously awaited the end of class, and then stayed behind as the other students walked out.

"Yes Potter?" McGonagall addressed him.

"Professor, my aunt and uncle - er -forgot to sign my form," he told her. "So - er- d'you think it would be alright - I mean, will it be okay if I - if I go to Hogsmeade?"

Professor McGonagall busied herself shuffling some papers. Apparently, she didn't want to give him the bad news.

"I'm afraid not, Potter," she said after a while. "You heard what I said. No form, no visiting the village. That's the rule."

"But Professor, my aunt and uncle - you know they're muggles, they don't understand about - about Hogwarts forms and stuff," Harry told McGonagall. "If you said I could go-"

"But I don't say so. The form clearly states that the parent or guardian must give permission."

"What if Mira goes?" Harry said in one last, desperate attempt. He conveniently missed Mira shaking her head and signaling for him to stop, instead focusing on Ron, who was egging him on.

McGonagall fixed him with a stern look.

"And why would that matter, Potter?" she asked sharply. "I was not aware that Miyake was your guardian."

Harry inwardly groaned at his foolishness. Of course it wouldn't matter to McGonagall.

"I was under the impression that she would not be going to the village this weekend. Now, I suggest you go on to your next class before you're late."

Harry, recognizing that it was a lost cause, trudged to the door.

"Oh, and Potter."

Harry turned to look at his professor with a shred of hope.

"Please tell Miyake that I wish to speak with her."

With a weak nod, Harry walked out of the classroom. Ron, Hermione and Mira were waiting for him outside. He looked at his guard with a rather apologetic expression, knowing she had heard McGonagall ask to talk to her.

"Sorry, guess I got you in trouble," he said.

Mira waved it off with a faint smile.

"It okay. She should know I told you I guard," she told him.

"Professor McGonagall thinks Harry doesn't know?" Hermione asked, curiously.

"Dumbledore think it best, so I not tell. She not think it good I tell Harry," Mira explained.

"Why?" Ron asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't know," Mira shrugged. "Maybe she thing Harry worry lots if he know."

Harry supposed that wouldn't be too unlikely. He could see McGonagall thinking he wouldn't be able to handle knowing about Mira guarding him from Black, and then he realized McGonagall didn't know he was already aware Black was after him.

"Maybe she thinks I would ask too many questions," he told his friends. "I'm not supposed to know about Black. McGonagall probably thinks I would want to know why I need protection."

"That's probably it then," Hermione said. "She knows Harry would want to know what's going on."

"But Harry found out on his own," Ron pointed out.

"What are you going to tell McGonagall?" Hermione said, looked at Mira, who just shrugged.

"I tell her truth," she said calmly. "I say it better if Harry knows so I tell him. Harry not ask why I guard him."

"You think she'll believe that?" Harry asked, honestly skeptical. McGonagall was, after all, a very sharp woman.

"If not, I tell her to talk to Dumbledore."

Harry supposed that would work, and so they didn't bring up the subject again.

* * *

><p><strong>Well there you have it, not the longest chapter, but I was short on time. The next chapter will showcase Hogsmeade weekend and Halloween, which means, Sirius' break in. I know the story has stuck very close to the original plotline, and I want it to be close, but it will start diverting very soon. Something will come up int eh next chapter, maybe, that will most definitely be different.<br>**

**Anyways, thank you for adding my story to your lists and I do hope you like it so far. Thanks for reading and, as always, please review if you have the time.**

**To those living in the U.S. I wish you a happy belated 4th of July.**


	8. Chapter 8: Shadow of Doubt

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or any elements belonging to the Harry Potter series. All Harry Potter related content is the sole property of J.K. Rowling. Any OCs and unfamiliar concepts are mine.

**I hope you enjoy this chapter, to those of you who enjoyed the previous one and thank you for coming back to read. Please, if you find the time, review and tell me what you think. To those who have added this story to their favorites/alerts, thank you.  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Eight: Shadow of Doubt<br>**

After Harry's failed talk with McGonagall, everyone had been trying to cheer Harry up or, in some cases, find a way to help him go to Hogsmeade. Harry appreciated it, but he could have done without the constant reminded that he wouldn't be able to go to the village.

Mira, who had delayed talking with McGonagall, had not been in a good mood since the Professor had cornered her. It seemed that McGonagall was rather upset with her for telling Harry about her true purpose at the school, and even Dumbledore couldn't convince her it was okay. Still, Mira didn't didn't hold a grudge with McGonagall, knowing the professor just wanted to keep her students same. Neither did she blame Harry.

"It okay, McGonagall not trust me, she think I too young," she told Harry with a small smile one evening in the common room. "She find out eventually anyway."

After that, she tried to seem a bit more cheerful, but Harry, Ron and Hermione noticed that she was still annoyed with the professor. Though that could have been because she always had trouble with Transfiguration(she still struggles with more advanced spellwork). Harry thought there might there might be something else bothering her, but he didn't ask.

It was not long after that Halloween finally arrived, and with it came the trip to Hogsmeade. Harry, though he was feeling rather down, walked with Ron and Hermione to the entrance hall. Mira was there as well, and Harry thought she might have accompanied them to make sure he didn't try to leave. Both Ron and Hermione promised to get them lots of sweets, something that Mira seemed rather pleased with.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Harry asked.

"I go to library," she told him with a small sigh. "Lots of work to do, so I get some done today."

It was then that Harry noticed that she had her school bag with her. He had to admit, he was a bit surprised. In all honesty, he had truly believed that she would follow him all day.

"What about you?" she asked Harry.

"I think I'll just go to the common room for now," he said, not really feeling like studying.

"Okay, I see you at feast," Mira said, before walking off in direction to the library.

Harry sighed and headed to the common room, wondering if maybe, he should have gone with Mira. He really didn't have anything else to do, and he did have work that needed to be finished, but he didn't think he would be able to get much done in his current mood. Harry knew he would probably just end up distracting Mira from her work and she _really_ needed to get some of it done. In a way, he supposed it was nice to have someone, apart from Ron and himself, with a tendency to procrastinate. It made it so he didn't feel as bad about his own pile of unfinished work.

The common room, when Harry arrived, was filled with first and second year students, along with a few older ones. It was what Harry had expected. Having Colin Creevey fawning over him, however, wasn't something he had expected. The small second year boy eagerly invited Harry to sit with him and his friends. Harry, not being in the mood to listen to Colin's incessant chatter, told him he needed to go to the library.

He wasn't too happy about his sudden change of plans, but at least the library would grant him some peace and quiet. Besides, with Mira there, he might be able to get some work done. At the very least, he would have someone relatively normal to talk to. It was unfortunate that, just as Harry was starting to warm up to the idea, he ran into Filch, who made him give up his plan of meeting Mira at the library. But Harry wouldn't head back to the common room as Filch had told him to do. Just as he was thinking of visiting Hedwig in the Owlery, he heard someone calling him, and turned to see Professor Lupin.

Harry was rather pleased with the way things turned out. Professor Lupin had invited him into his office for some tea and Harry had been shown the next creature they would be studying, a grindylow. He had even been able to discuss his boggart with the professor. It had actually been a surprise to hear Professor Lupin admit to purposely keeping Harry from facing the boggart, but Harry supposed he should have guessed Lupin would have expected him to fear Voldemort the most. His boggart, however, wasn't the only one he was curious about.

"Professor Lupin, I was wondering if you had any idea of what Mira's boggart was," Harry asked.

"Ah, yes, Miss Miyake's boggart. A very strange one indeed," he looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking. "To be honest, Harry, I'm not really sure of it's meaning either, but I hope you haven't asked her. She's - different, from your other classmates."

Harry resisted the urge to laugh. _Different _was one way of putting it.

"I haven't, I thought she wouldn't tell me."

Lupin nodded.

"Yes, she doesn't seem to like speaking about herself too much," he commented. "But, I'm sure it's for the best."

Harry wondered if the professor knew about Mira being there to protect him. After all, Mira had said only a few teachers knew, and Lupin had only just started teaching at Hogwarts. But then, something about the way he talked about Mira made Harry think he already knew.

It was not long after that Snape showed up, carrying a goblet filled with a strange potion that was smoking lightly. To his surprise, Lupin drank it, even after Harry had made it a point to tell him how much Snape wanted to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts. Harry left after that, leaving Lupin to work. On the way to the common room, he met Mira.

"Did you get anything done?" he asked.

"Yes, I finish History work, but I think it wrong," she said lightly.

Harry raised an eyebrow at this.

"Maybe Hermione will look it over," he suggested.

"Hmm, yes, maybe I ask," she muttered absentmindedly.

Harry knew she still felt bad about asking Hermione for help, especially since her workload kept growing with all her classes. Ron couldn't understand why she would feel bad, as he regularly asked to copy Hermione's homework. Not that she ever let him.

* * *

><p>Ron and Hermione did not return until dusk, at which time they dumped a pile of sweets upon Harry's lap. Mira had also received her share, which made her grin widely. She seemed to have a sweet tooth, the three friends noted. They exchanged stories about their day and Ron and Hermione had seemed surprised to hear that Lupin had drunk an unknown potion given to him by Snape. Ron seemed to think Lupin had gone mad. Harry secretly agreed.<p>

After that, they hurried down to the Great Hall for the feast. The hall looked amazing, with great big pumpkins filled with candles and swarms of live bats flying above. Harry saw Mira's mouth drop open at the sight, reminding him of the first Halloween feast he had attended. Of course, it had later been ruined by a troll, but he hoped nothing would happen this time around. The holiday seemed to be jinxed.

As usual, the food was delicious and the hall was filled with happy chatter. They all drank and ate their fill, and even the teachers appeared to be in a lighter mood. Harry could see them all talking cheerfully amongst themselves at the teacher's table. Well, not everyone. Snape looked as sour as always. The ghosts put on a show at the end and Harry felt truly happy by the time they headed back to their dormitories. It was rather unexpected, given the bad mood he had been in at the start of the day.

Unfortunately, the cheerful atmosphere came crashing down when they reached the entrance to the common room. The portrait of the Fat Lady had been slashed rather violently and the Fat Lady herself was gone. It was the news of who had done such a thing, however, that sent them all into a panic.

"Did she say who did it?" Dumbledore asked Peeves, the poltergeist, rather gravely.

"Oh yes, Professorhead," said Peeves with a wicked grin. "He got very angry when she wouldn't let him in, you see. Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black."

* * *

><p>The whole of Hogwarts had been gathered in the Great Hall after Dumbledore had heard what Peeves had to say. Sleeping bags had been conjured by the headmaster after he had given out instructions. The teachers were ready to begin the search for the convict and the prefects and Head Boy and Head Girl were in charge of the other students. Harry, Ron and Hermione had taken three purple sleeping bags and dragged them to a corner, where they could talk without being disturbed.<p>

"Wait, where's Mira?" asked Hermione.

The boys stopped and looked around the Hall, where people were already settling in. All three of them sat there for a while, trying to find their friend, but there was no sign of the girl.

"Oh, do you think she got lost?" Hermione asked in a preoccupied voice.

"Hermione, she knows where the Great Hall is," Harry pointed out. "Maybe she just got separated from us."

"But she was right there with us," Ron said with a frown.

"What if Black is still in the castle?" Hermione said, paling slightly. "If she runs into him -"

"She can take care of herself," Harry said, and then something occurred to him. "Maybe she left on her own," he told them quietly. "If she's here to keep Black away then Dumbledore may want her help. She'll probably show up later."

"That's right," Ron agreed. "So there's no reason to worry, see Hermione?"

Hermione, however, still seemed uncertain.

"I don't know," she said, slipping into her sleeping bag, like her two friends. "I'm still not sure it was a good idea for Dumbledore to ask her to do something like this. Black is a dangerous wizard and we still don't know what Mira can do. She can barely even cast a spell."

"Hermione, she'll be fine. Dumbledore wouldn't have asked her to protect Harry if he didn't know that she could handle it," Ron tried to convince her.

Hermione finally relented.

"Do you think Black's still in the castle?" she asked the other two.

"Maybe," Ron said. "Dumbledore seems to think so, or he wouldn't have asked the teachers to search the castle."

"It's very lucky he picked tonight, you know," Hermione commented. "The one night we weren't in the tower..."

They all shuddered at the thought of what could have happened if Black had chosen any other night.

"But how did he get in?" they heard someone ask not too far away.

People all over the Great Hall were speculating on what methods Black could have used, but Hermione was quick to point out the flaws in their theories to Harry and Ron. Harry just hoped Mira had more luck finding out how he _did _get inside the castle.

* * *

><p>Mira had managed to slip away from her three friends when they were near the Great Hall. She wanted to make sure they arrived there safely and she wasn't about to trust a prefect with that job with Sirius Black around. She waited in a dark corner further down the hall, next to a suit of armor, using her own abilities to cast just enough shadows around her to hide without looking too suspicious. The other three houses entered the Great Hall and she saw Dumbledore and some of the other teachers, amongst them Lupin and McGonagall, enter. It wasn't long after that they stepped out again.<p>

"Ah, Miss Miyake, if you could please step out," Dumbledore said pleasantly.

The teachers with him were startled to see her step out of the shadows, the hallway behind her brightening.

"Headmaster, I think I help search too," she said.

"Yes, I'd very much like for you to search with the other teachers," Dumbledore said with a nod.

"Albus, you can't be serious, this girl should be with the other students," McGonagall said sharply.

"My dear professor, I think Miss Miyake would much rather help us look for Black," Dumbledore spoke, before McGonagall could say more. "I assure you, she is more than capable of looking after herself. Now, let us not waste any more time."

The teachers grudgingly agreed to start searching, they could voice their doubts later. Mira didn't miss the looks they were giving her, though. They didn't believe she could take care of herself, much less Harry, and she didn't blame them. Harry was very important to them, and she was only a child in their eyes, but she wouldn't let that stop her. It _was _her job, after all, and Dumbledore had enough sense to trust her with it.

She was glad to see that Lupin didn't look at her with disapproval, but rather with curiosity. It was much better than Snape's bitter expression and the suspicious look in his eyes. McGonagall still seemed uncertain, but Mira didn't mind, she knew she was just worried about her students and she couldn't be mad at her for that. Hopefully, she would change her mind soon.

The teachers split up to search the castle, wands out and ready to defend themselves. Mira had been handed the task of checking outside. She was glad for that, as she was pretty sure Black wouldn't have stuck around, besides she didn't really like being in the castle when it was so quiet, it was eerie, really. Not long after, however, she began to wish she had been asked to search inside. The night was cold and she only had her uniform robes, no cloak to keep her warm.

With a sigh, she resigned herself to spending a good few hours outside, scouring the area around the castle in search of any sign of Sirius Black. Mira knew Black hadn't stayed, but there was always the chance that he had left a clue. Unfortunately for her, he was very good at hiding said clues. Mira walked around and the castle, keeping her wand out just in case, though she knew it wouldn't do her any good. She had never been very good at Magic, but maybe it would throw Black off if she chucked it at him and punched him on the nose. That would certainly amuse her.

Mira sighed as she walked, glancing over at the forest in the distance. She knew the place was dangerous, Harry had told her there were supposed to be werewolves and other creatures inside, but would Black ignore that and hide there? It was a possibility, however small, and she would ask Dumbledore about that later. She was just thinking of heading back inside, when she tripped and stumbled a few steps forward. Mira was glad no one was around to see that. She looked down, trying to find whatever it was that had tripped her, but she couldn't really see anything on the ground.

"Lumos," she muttered, glad that she had practiced that particular charm so much.

The light of her wand was certainly bright and she hoped that, if Black _was _around, it wouldn't drive him away. Even with the light, she couldn't see anything, just the green grass, gently swaying in the wind. A bit of it looked to be overgrown, taller than the rest...

Mira knelt next to the patch of grass and moved some of the shorter blades aside. Her brow furrowed at the sight before her. There was a section of the ground that was about an inch and a half higher than the rest. It was a space of approximately two square feet and the strangest thing was that the ground was perfectly straight at the point of division. Mira ran her hand along the edge. The soil, even though it had been drizzling earlier, was perfectly dry and hard. Actually, if she looked closely, it seemed to be packed together quite tightly, making it hard to break off.

Abruptly, she stood and looked up at the castle. The towering turrets above her seemed perfectly calm, the light from the windows seemed warm and welcoming-

Then it hit her, and she gathered some of the dark energy she controlled, concentrating it below her and using it to move upwards. She reached a window in the seventh floor, the same floor where the entrance to the Gryffindor common room lay. There was nothing to suggest anyone or anything had been near it before her, nothing but a few specks of mud on the glass.

With a cold feeling settling in her stomach, she lowered herself back to the grass below and began searching for any tracks that might have been left behind. There was no broken glass, no footsteps, nothing suggesting someone had _broken _in, but then Black was a wizard. Could it be that hard to get into the castle through an unguarded window? But then, how had he acquired a wand? If what Mira suspected was correct, there would be a way for him to get one, but it certainly didn't make any sense.

After nearly a quarter of an hour searching the area, she had found nothing. There were no tracks to follow and no clues to where Black could have gone. Mira decided it was time to head back inside. She needed to tell the teachers about her findings, but just as she was casting one last look around, she saw something moving along the line of trees of the Forbidden Forest. It was a dark figure, relatively large and moving forward, out of the forest. Even though it was a fair distance away, Mira could tell it was something like a dog, and she was reminded of the supposed Grim she and Harry had seen the night they had met.

She wanted to get closer, to see what it really was, but there was the sudden sound of someone calling out to her from somewhere behind her, and the dog darted out of sight and into the forest. Mira made a note to ask Dumbledore for permission to search the Forbidden Forest. With that in mind, she turned to see Professor Lupin approaching.

"Mira!" Lupin called, hurrying over.

Mira relaxed a bit at the sight of the professor, but she also wondered what she would tell him, because she most certainly couldn't voice her suspicions with him.

"Did something happen?" he asked her as he stopped before her. Her wand was still out and she still held it firmly, as if ready to defend herself, and maybe she was. Dog or not, she couldn't trust anything in the world she was in. "Did you find anything?"

She thought about it for only a second before deciding to tell him at least some of the truth. After all, it was all to keep the students safe.

"I find where Black get in," she told him

She saw Lupin's eyes widen a bit in surprise. Clearly, he hadn't expected her to _really _find anything.

"Where?" he asked her, a note of urgency in his voice.

"Through window," she said, pointing up. "I find mud on glass," she explained.

Lupin looked at her in disbelief, and Mira supposed that was to be expected.

"But how would he get up there?" he asked, more to himself than to Mira.

It was a good thing too, because that was something she really didn't want to answer.

"Come on," Professor Lupin said. "We must notify the Headmaster."

Mira nodded and followed Lupin, casting one last look at the Forbidden Forest.

* * *

><p>Back in the Great Hall, Harry, Ron and Hermione lay awake, listening to the whispering of the few students that hadn't already fallen asleep. The prefects had been walking around, trying to get everyone to sleep. Every now and then, a teacher would check up on them, but apart from that, not much had happened.<p>

Harry was curious as to what Mira was doing, because he was certain that she was helping in some way. He thought that, maybe she was searching the castle as well for any signs of Black. At least, thought Harry, she would be able to tell them what had happened that night, outside the Great Hall. He supposed it was a good thing she wasn't just a student.

It was very late when Harry heard people conversing in the Great Hall. He couldn't hear most of what they said, as they were quite far from him, but they were approaching the place where he was. He feigned sleep when the people speaking drew nearer.

"Headmaster, the girl found something," it was Snape, Harry was sure of it. "She claims Black entered through a window on the seventh floor."

"Where is she now?" said Dumbledore.

"With Lupin, they are searching the area for any clues."

"Did Miss Miyake find anything else?" Dumbledore asked after a pause.

"Nothing," Snape said. "Though she mentioned wanting to search the forest."

"There is no need for that," Dumbledore spoke. "I do not believe Black would take refuge there. The Centaurs would not be so welcoming."

"Of course," Snape agreed.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to inform the dementors that our search is over."

Dumbledore left the Great Hall after that, leaving Snape alone to stare after him. He too walked away shortly after. Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at each other.

"So she _was _helping them search for Black," Ron said.

"And it sounds like she actually found something important," added Hermione. "I wonder what it was."

"Well, we'll find out later," Harry told them. "We can ask her about it tomorrow. She'll probably tell us since we already know."

The other two agreed and, not long after, they were finally asleep.

* * *

><p>Mira and Professor Lupin had searched the area near the Gryffindor common room, but found nothing more than some mud near the window Mira claimed had been the entry point. Not, they knew where Black had entered the castle, but they still had no idea <em>how.<em>

"I not understand," Mira sighed. "Why get in today?"

Lupin gave her a curious look.

"Everyone in feast, so why attack today when tower is empty?" it had been something that Mira had been wondering for a while.

"They say he wants revenge for his Lord," Lupin began. "He was defeated on Halloween night. I suppose it would have been a fitting date to avenge him."

"But why not get in earlier?" Mira insisted. "Today most students go to village. Harry stay alone, why not then?"

Lupin frowned.

"I doubt he knew that," he said. "And it would be too difficult to get in during the day. As for Harry being alone, I hope that won't be the case in the future," he gave Mira a pointed look that plainly told her to keep closer to the boy.

"I try give Harry some time alone, or he get frustrated, maybe do something bad," she said calmly. "He not seem like he wants being watched all the time."

Lupin sighed, knowing she was probably right. No teenage boy would want to be guarded all the time, and it would be especially true for Harry. He was independent and would not want to be coddled and shielded.

"He really knows about you then?" he asked. "He knows you're here to keep him safe?"

"Yes," she said with a not. "I tell him long time ago, it make it easier to keep eye on him."

"He took it surprisingly well," Lupin commented.

"Harry know I do this to get help, so he not complain. I think it his way to help," she explained.

There was a faint smile on the professor's face now, Mira noted.

"That does sound like Harry," he said fondly, mostly to himself. "Well, I don't think we'll find anything else. Let's go, we should report back and then you can get some rest. You still have lessons , after all.

Mira groaned at the thought, and Lupin chuckled lightly.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you guys like this chapter. This is where things start to go off the usual path, but the main story will be there, just with some significant differences. <strong>

** Though I suspect I shall receive no reviews, I will ask you to please review if you get the chance. Thanks to those who added me to their lists and until next time!**


	9. Chapter 9: Suspicions Uncovered

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or any elements belonging to the Harry Potter series. All Harry Potter related content is the sole property of J.K. Rowling. Any OCs and unfamiliar concepts are mine.

**I hope you enjoy this chapter, to those of you who enjoyed the previous one and thank you for coming back to read. Please, if you find the time, review and tell me what you think. To those who have added this story to their favorites/alerts, thank you.  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Nine: Suspicions Uncovered<br>**

The days following the events of Halloween were filled with nothing but gossip, mainly centered on Black's break-in. It seemed like everyone had their own idea of what had happened and no one tired of sharing their theories. Unfortunately, the only person who Harry, Ron and Hermione were willing to listen to, appeared to have no desire to tell them about that night.

Mira had been keeping busy, always working on homework or practicing her spellwork. Whenever she was questioned on the subject, she would promptly switch subjects or claim she didn't know anything of importance. Of course, Harry and his friends didn't believe her, not when they had heard Snape talking to Dumbledore. If what they had heard was correct, it had been Mira herself who had found the only clue left by Black. Harry, finally tired of getting no information, had pointed this out.

"Of course you hear that," Mira sighed.

"They were sitting in a quiet corner of the common room, working on some star charts for Astronomy. No one around was listening, and Harry took it as the perfect opportunity to question Mira again. It looked like she would finally tell them something.

"I not find much," she revealed reluctantly. "Only some mud on window. Ground beneath look strange so I check. Professor Lupin and me find mud in hall, near window."

"So then, Black came in though a window?" Hermione said thoughtfully. "But how did he get up there?"

"We not know yet," Mira said. "That why I not say anything, not much to say."

They didn't ask her anything else about Black after that, but Harry had the feeling that there was more to it. Harry didn't know Mira that well yet, but there was something that just didn't seem right. If there was so little to tell, then why not just say it?

Harry didn't have much time to dwell on that, not with classes taking so much time. Apart from that, there was the fact that the whole of Hogwarts' staff seemed to be following him as of late. Even Percy Weasley had been trailing after him as a sort of guard, something that irritated Harry to no ends. Apparently, he wasn't the only one annoyed by this.

It was on a day in which Percy was, once again, following Harry around, that Mira pulled him down another hallway and next to an old statue. Harry suddenly had a cold feeling and his vision darkened, or at least, he thought so. Mira motioned for him to be quiet, and they watched as Percy turned the corner and stopped, looking down the corridor for any sign of Harry. After a while, he hurried off in search of the young wizard. His footsteps grew fainter and fainter, until they could barely be heard at all, and Mira stepped back onto the middle of the hall. The place brightened once again, and Harry blinked, confused about what had just happened. He gave Mira a questioning look.

"He annoy me," she shrugged. "Guarding you my job, not his and I not like being followed."

Harry grinned as they continued on their way. There were some definite advantages to having Mira around, Harry thought. But Mira couldn't do anything about the Fat Lady's replacement. Once all the portraits had heard what had happened to the Fat Lady, none but Sir Cadogan were willing to take on the task. Unfortunately, Sir Cadogan wasn't really the best for the job. He changed passwords so frequently that Neville often forgot the complicated words and was forced to wait for a fellow Gryffindor to let him back in.

Harry however, didn't have much time to think on those things or even on Black's break-in. Quidditch practices were growing more intense as their first match approached. The weather was terrible, with strong winds and an unrelenting rain, but the Gryffindor team was committed to winning the cup that year. Mira wouldn't give up either, and had not missed a single practice session, even though she had revealed that she disliked flying.

McGonagall had wanted Madam Hooch to supervise Gryffindor's practice after the incident with Black, but Harry, and later Mira, insisted that it wasn't necessary. The professor had also brought up the issue of Black being after Harry, but he had told her he already knew. Harry had assured her that it hadn't been Mira who had told him. He didn't know if she would have gotten into trouble, but he didn't want to take any chances. It had been a relief to know that it wouldn't be Madam Hooch who would supervise practice for the team. Harry didn't want to call even more attention to himself. Now, however, he thought that it may have been a good idea to have a teacher there instead, if only to give Mira a break.

Ever since Halloween, she hadn't been looking too well. She seemed tired and was always in a rush, always working on something. Mira had also taken to spending a long time in the library. She would often head there after seeing Harry safely back in the common room after dinner. Hermione had been the first to notice these changes, even when Ron had dismissed it as Mira trying to catch up on work. Harry had agreed at first, knowing how behind the girl was, but it seemed like no matter how much she worked, she was never done. He had started to think that it could have something to do with her guarding him, and he had felt rather bad about that. Harry had told Hermione this, and she had agreed that it could be possible for Mira to be stressed and overworked after Black had managed to sneak into the castle, but she also thought there could be something else. Either way, Harry wanted to ask Mira to take a break from overseeing Quidditch practice.

It was raining rather harshly by the time practice let off that night, and even with her makeshift umbrella, Mira's robes were damp and cold. Harry could see her shivering even as she pulled her cloak closer. He heard her sneeze. the sound muffled by the thick scarf she wore.

"Bless you," he said.

"Thanks," Mira sniffled.

Harry hesitated for a moment, but knew this was a good chance to try to convince her to take a break.

"Maybe you should go see Madam Pomfrey," he said. "You don't look so good."

It was true, she was rather pale, her nose and cheeks red. There was a slight darkening of the skin beneath her bloodshot eyes and her hair and clothes looked messy, as if she could hardly find the energy to dress properly. Unfortunately, she was as stubborn as ever.

"No, she keep me long and I not like potions," she told Harry, scrunching up her nose in distaste at the thought of the unpleasant medicine she would have to drink.

"But you look exhausted, and if you're ill it'll be better to let Pomfrey have a look," Harry felt like quite the hypocrite, standing there and trying to convince someone to go see the school nurse. He knew perfectly well that, had it been him, he would deny being sick and insist there was no need to see the nurse. Much like Mira was doing at the moment.

"Not sick, just cold," Mira argued stubbornly.

"Then at least take a break from watching Quidditch practice," Harry said, exasperated. "We can always ask Madam Hooch to sit in during practice instead."

At once, Mira refused with a shake of her head.

"It my job," she insisted. "What if Black attack?"

"I doubt he would be able to get into the grounds again and the rest of the team will be there. Besides, he won't be able to do anything if I'm in the air and if Madam Hooch is there-"

"No," Mira cut him off.

Harry furrowed his brow. Mira was acting strangely, well, stranger than usual. She was normally rather laid back and willing to give Harry his space. It was something that Harry was grateful for. Most of the time, he forgot why she was really there. For her to be so adamant about something...well, there had to be a good reason.

"Why not?" he asked. "Professor McGonagall said it was okay, why are you so worried?"

Mira frowned, something that didn't happen often.

"We talk more inside, yes? It very cold."

Harry agreed with a nod, and the two set off again. He didn't miss the way Mira kept glancing around, as if expecting Black to jump out and attack at any moment. Harry hadn't seen her so jumpy since the night he had met her on Magnolia Crescent. Harry was glad when they finally entered the castle, and not just because of the warmth that washed over them.

"So, you're going to tell me what's going on now?"

Mira sighed, but opened the door to an unused classroom. Once they were inside, harry looked at her expectantly. She hesitated for a while, clearly not knowing how to start. eventually, she reached into her cloak and pulled out something. Harry couldn't see it too well, but he could make out it's color, black, and rectangular shape.

"This is phone from my time," Mira said. "It strange to you, but very normal looking back home."

Mira showed Harry what she claimed was a phone from the future, or at least her world's future(Harry stopped thinking about it then, not wanting a headache). It was black and sleek, very thin and with only a few buttons with funny looking symbols that Harry supposed were characters used in her country. It certainly looked like it was from the future.

"It special phone. I use it to talk to others in - uh - group, back home. It does lots of things, but it not work when I get here," she explained.

"Well, that's because electronics don't work here at Hogwarts. Hermione says it's the magic. You should ask her about it," Harry told her, but Mira shook her head.

"No, you not understand. It work, not electric, I power it," she said." But it not work. No call or sign, I think you call it."

"You mean no signal?" Harry said after a moment.

Mira nodded.

"Yes, signal, no signal. Because there no others like me, it had no signal. Not connecting," she amended. "But it start work again. I forgot and not notice before Halloween."

"Okay, so now it works properly, right?"

Again, Mira shook her head.

"No, it not work too well. It, um, strange. Goes on and off, so I try to fix it."

"You've been trying to fix it since then?"

"Yes," Mira responded.

"Is that what you've been doing all this time?" Harry asked.

Mira gave him a curious look.

"Hermione noticed you looked tired. You've been working a lot and you always leave to the library. We've been wondering what you've been doing."

"Oh! Yes, I try to fix this, but other times, I walk around castle, um, patrol. I go out to forest with Hagrid too."

"You went out to the Forbidden Forest?" Harry asked, surprised.

"Only once. Before, I think maybe Black hide there, but Dumbledore say not likely. He still let me go, just in case. I take Hagrid so I not get lost."

Harry was still a bit surprised at hearing that Mira had been wandering around without them noticing. Epecially with her going into the forest.

"Did you find anything?" he said after a moment.

"No, Black not stay there, but maybe he hide there on Halloween, just for a little while."

Harry supposed that was possible. After all, it would be hard to find Black in the forest, even if he didn't go in too deep.

"Is that why you don't want me to go out on my own? Because Black could be hiding in the forest?" Harry said. "But what does that have to do with your phone?"

"Right," she nodded. "Halloween night, I look around castle, outside. I find strange part of ground."

"The ground? What was strange about the ground?" Harry asked, genuinely confused.

"It higher," Mira began. "Just a little, an inch maybe, it shaped like square, maybe this big," and she showed him the approximate size with her arms.

"I think it strange, not normal. Window close to common room very high up, right above it, so I go check it."

"And you found mud," Harry realized.

"Yes," Mira agreed. "So I think Black get in there."

"But how would he do that?" Harry said, puzzled. "No one can move the ground like that, at least not without a wand. and how would he get one?"

Mira sighed, and Harry could tell she didn't like what she was going to say next.

"I know person that can move ground," she said. "From home."

Harry stared at her wondering if what she was saying could be true. Could that person she knew be the one who had helped Black? And if so, why would they and how did they get here?

"From your own world? But how would they have gotten here?"

"Same way as me," Mira said. "Just not sure when. I think I was alone, not remember anyone else."

Harry frowned, not liking where things were going. If someone from Mira's world had crossed over, then it couldn't be someone good. They wouldn't be helping Black otherwise. But then, who could it be? A demon maybe? Or could it be the person who had sent Mira to that world? But Mira said she might know who it was and she would probably be more panicked if it _was _a demon.

"So who do you think it is?" Harry asked. "You said you knew someone in your world who could do what you saw on Halloween."

Mira seemed hesitant to reveal who it could have been. Her brow furrowed and she looked down, seemingly in thought.

"Partner," Mira said, so quietly Harry wasn't sure he had heard her correctly.

"What?"

"Partner," Mira repeated. "I think it was my partner."

Harry stared at her, not sure what she meant.

"Partner from what?"

Mira sighed and sat on one of the empty desks.

"I tell you in Leaky Cauldron," she started. "In my world, I work for group. We work to protect people from demons, but sometimes, it very dangerous, so we have partners. My partner have power on earth. He move ground, do all sort of things. Before, he used to get in places through window or roof, he raise part of ground, that's why I think he come here."

Harry took a moment to let this information sink in. Several questions popped into his mind.

"But how did he get here?" he asked.

Mira shrugged helplessly.

"Don't know, I think I only one here before," she admitted.

"Was he with you before you came here?"

Mira thought about it for a minute before nodding.

"Yes, he fighting with me, but I think he far, too far to follow."

"But, maybe he was close enough to be sucked in. I mean, he could have just landed somewhere else," Harry pointed out.

"Yes, but why hide? Why not come to me?"

Harry was wondering the same thing, but there was another thing worrying him.

"Why would he help Black?"

Mira's frown deepened at the question, and she let out a tired sigh.

"I don't know."

* * *

><p><strong>Well, there's another chapter, sorry for the delay, but I've been busy. I have the next part written up, just need the time to type it. <strong>

** Though I suspect I shall receive no reviews, I will ask you to please review if you get the chance. Thanks to those who added me to their lists and until next time!**


	10. Chapter 10: The Horror That is Quidditch

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or any elements belonging to the Harry Potter series. All Harry Potter related content is the sole property of J.K. Rowling. Any OCs and unfamiliar concepts are mine.

**I hope you enjoy this chapter, to those of you who enjoyed the previous one and thank you for coming back to read. Please, if you find the time, review and tell me what you think. To those who have added this story to their favorites/alerts, thank you.  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Ten: The Horror That is Quidditch<br>**

Harry had filled Ron and Hermione in on what Mira had told him. They had been surprised to hear that there could be someone else from Mira's world nearby, but they had been stunned at the idea of them helping Black. When Hermione had asked how Mira knew, Harry had had to tell her and Ron that Mira knew someone, a friend, with the ability to manipulate the earth. Unfortunately, this led to Hermione questioning Harry on why they had those abilities and what they were used for. Harry remembered Hermione asking Mira the same thing, and he had been the one to save her from having to answer. Now, however, Mira was not with them, and Harry didn't know what else to do. So he told his friends the truth.

They had, quite understandably, been skeptical at first, not willing to believe that a world with demons existed. They couldn't see Mira, the strange but generally nice girl, the girl who struggled with magic and didn't seem very strong at all, fighting dangerous monsters. It seemed ridiculous, but to Mira, the existence of Witches and Wizards had seemed ridiculous as well.

"But why didn't she tell us?" Hermione asked, once she had gotten over the initial shock.

"Well, I can't imagine it's a pleasant topic for her to discuss," Ron pointed out. "I mean, Harry said she kills demons. That's not something you chat about over a cup of tea, is it?"

Hermione sent him a withering look, but didn't say anything.

"Maybe she was worried about how people would react," Harry suggested. "She said not a lot of people had special abilities in her world. If it's that uncommon then I don't think she goes around telling people about it."

"So she could just be used to not telling others for fear of how they would react," Hermione commented with understanding.

"Do you think she's told Dumbledore and the other teachers?" asked Ron.

"She probably told Dumbledore, since he's helping her get back home," Harry said. "I don't think all the teachers know. She said only a few were told, probably McGonagall. I doubt they know everything, though or McGonagall wouldn't think she's not strong enough to help."

Ron and Hermione agreed on that.

But I don't understand," Hermione began after a while. "If it's her friend that's here, why is he helping Black?"

"Who knows," Harry answered honestly. "I asked her the same thing, but even she didn't know. I don't think she expected her friend to start working with Black."

Harry couldn't see anyone who Mira could consider a friend helping the convict, but then, they didn't really _know _Mira that well.

* * *

><p>Harry couldn't really worry too much about what his strange guard had told him, not when Gryffindor's first Quidditch match was fast approaching. To their misfortune, Slytherin had managed to get out of playing in the terrible weather they had been experiencing. Their excuse was that Malfoy was still dealing with the trauma of Buckbeak's attack. Everyone knew that wasn't true, but there was nothing to be done. The Gryffindor team had been forced to try to adjust to the change of opponent as they would now be playing against Hufflepuff.<p>

As if that wasn't bad enough, Harry had walked into Defense Against the Dark Arts one day to find Snape in place of Lupin. Not unexpectedly, class has ended with Ron getting a detention and Mira losing them twenty-five points. Personally, Harry thought it could have been a lot worse. Everyone in the class was in a foul mood for the remainder of the day.

The next morning did nothing to raise their spirits. It was gray and dreary, with howling winds and a torrential rain that would not stop. Frankly, Harry was not looking forward to going out in that weather to play Quidditch, but he had no choice. Mira had looked at him like he was crazy when he informed her that he would still be playing. For a moment, he thought she would try to argue, but she seemed to know he wouldn't change his mind and finally settled on simply claiming wizards were insane. Harry thought she might be right, especially when he walked out onto the pitch, staggering forward due to the strong winds. He hoped Mira wouldn't have a panic attack at the sight of her charge playing a dangerous game in such bad weather.

Down on the ground, Mira was, in fact, slightly panicking. She had never seen an actual game of Quidditch, just the practices, and that was enough to show just how dangerous the game really was. Hermione, who was with her along with Ron, thought it was a good thing Gryffindor was playing Hufflepuff in place of Slytherin. Those matches could grow to be pretty brutal.

"How long it last?" Mira asked Hermione, while holding her cloak tightly around her.

"Until the snitch is caught," Hermione answered.

Mira frowned, seemingly displeased to hear that.

"But it so hard to see. The snitch so small and fast."

Hermione thought that was a good point. She couldn't remember there ever being a match in such bad weather. If the seekers couldn't see the snitch due to the darkening skies and thick rain, the game could take a while. Still, she had faith in Harry. He was, after all, the youngest seeker in a century.

"Don't worry, Harry's very good. I'm sure he'll catch the snitch soon to get out of this horrid weather," she told Mira with a smile.

Mira didn't seem convinced, and not long after, Hermione was starting to worry. It was clear that the players were having trouble holding onto their brooms due to the harsh rain. The strong winds also made it difficult to keep on course and the sky was growing darker by the minute.

"Hermione," Mira called over the roaring of the rain. "Harry wears glasses, so it be hard to see in rain, right?"

Hermione blinked and then slapped her forehead lightly.

"Of course, no wonder he can't find the snitch. The rain must be making it impossible to see past an inch," she realized.

Fortunately, Wood called a time out not long after, and Hermione jumped at the chance to help her friend. Ron and Mira watched as she hurried over to the Gryffindor team. A moment later, she was back, a large grin on her face.

"What did you do?" Ron asked.

"I cast _Impervious, _a water repelling charm, on Harry's glasses," she explained. "It should make it a lot easier for him to see now. Hopefully, he'll catch the snitch soon."

"Hermione, that's brilliant!" Ron grinned.

The young witch beamed at the praise, her cheeks coloring slightly.

The game resumed soon after, and there was a definite improvement in Harry's flying. For one thing, he no longer kept giving Mira near heart attacks by narrowly missing bludgers. He seemed a lot ore focused as well, now that he could see. But then, for some strange reason, Harry stopped.

For a moment, Ron, Hermione and Mira had thought that their friend had seen the snitch. A second later though, the crowd called their attention to where Cedric Diggory, the Hufflepuff seeker, was shooting through the field and towards a tiny speck of gold that was barely visible in the rain. Apparently, Harry had finally noticed this too and, not long after, he was off, pushing his broom to go as fast as it could in an attempt to beat Cedric.

However, before he could get too far, a sense of dread seemed to hit a large part of the crowd, the air growing colder that before. Mira was confused for a moment, until Hermione pointed to the cause of the sudden change in atmosphere.

Gathering in the Quidditch pitch were about a hundred dementors, their black cloaks waving slightly in an eerie fashion. Their hooded faces were pointing up, all of them focused on the players above, and Harry wasn't faring so well with the sudden attention.

The crowd watched in horror as his broomstick slowed slightly, moving off course, its rider going limp and then falling. Harry plummeted to the ground fifty feet below, looking deathly pale even from afar. Thankfully, Dumbledore was already in action, even before Mira could act. His spell slowed Harry and he landed with a lot less force, though still rather badly. It was a very good thing that it had rained so much, for the ground had softened , lessening the impact. Everyone watched as, furious, Dumbledore drove the dementors out of the field before turning his attention back to Harry. The young wizard was taken away in a conjured stretcher.

"Come on," Hermione said, pulling her other two friends along.

* * *

><p>They weren't allowed in the hospital wing until Harry had been treated and lay resting on a bed. Even though Madam Pomfrey had said he would be fine after some rest they couldn't help but worry. As he lay on the clean, warm bed, Harry seemed very pale and tired. It was strange to see him like that after all he had been through. Not long after, the Gryffindor Quidditch team showed up, all covered in mud and looking very worried. Even though they were just as soaked as Ron Hermione and Mira, they seemed more concerned with their seeker's health.<p>

"How's Harry?" and anxious looking Alicia Spinnet asked.

"Madam Pomfrey said he'll be fine, he just needs to rest a while," answered Hermione.

The team seemed a bit more at ease after hearing that, though they would only be relieved when Harry woke up. They didn't talk much after that, until Professor Flitwick showed up with a bag. They all winced when they heard it contained the splintered remains of Harry's beloved bloom. Apparently, it had had an unfortunate encounter with the Whomping Willow.

"Oh, Harry will be so upset," Hermione said worriedly.

"He'll be even more upset when he hears about the match," Ron added with a grimace.

It really was a shame that they would have nothing but bad news when Harry woke up. Mira, however, didn't care about broomsticks or lost matches. Sure, she felt bad, knowing how important those things were to Harry, but she was just a lot more relieved to know he was fine. It had been a very close call, after all. She didn't even want to _think_ about what would have happened if Dumbledore hadn't been so quick to act.

Then, there was the guilt she felt for not having been able to help. Truthfully, she didn't know what she could have done. Dumbledore had told her to try to avoid using her own natural abilities after the incident with Malfoy and Buckbeak. While the headmaster was glad his student had not been injured, he did not want the rest of the school to suspect Mira of being anything else but a student. He had suggested she try to use magic the next time she ran into a similar problem. The issue with that was, she wasn't very proficient with magic yet. She just wasn't very reliable with a wand.

"Harry!" Fred exclaimed, and everyone looked down at the young wizard on the bed. "How're you feeling?"

Harry was finally awake, though he did seem rather dazed. Then again, Mira supposed she would feel the same if she had just fallen fifty feet through the air and onto the ground. He looked at them all for a moment, and then it looked like he was trying to make sense of the situation.

"What happened?" he asked, suddenly sitting up/

"You fell off," Fred said, and everyone began to explain to Harry all that had transpired.

Breaking the news of the team's loss was bad enough, but it was telling Harry what had happened to his Nimbus that proved to be the real challenge. It was clear that, once the shock had worn off, Harry was quite upset. With a grim expression, he looked into the bag containing the remains of his broom. It was not long after that Madam Pomfrey chased them out of the hospital wing.

* * *

><p>Harry had been forced to spend the rest of the weekend in the hospital wing. Hagrid, Ginny Weasley and the whole Gryffindor Quidditch team(who had dragged a depressed looking Oliver Wood along) visited Harry during that time. He was very grateful to them, but he wished they didn't try to cheer him up. He was certain that nothing would make him feel better about the loss of his faithful broomstick.<p>

Ron, Hermione and Mira ha remained by his side for most of the time. Harry's unusual guard had looked pretty bad. She seemed even more tired than the last time he had seem her and would constantly yawn. Neither Harry nor Hermione missed her constant sniffling either, and it had been around lunchtime on Sunday that they had finally grown tired of it all. Madam Pomfrey had been made aware of Mira's decline in health and a few potions had been practically forced down the girl's throat not long after. She was now sleeping in a bed next to Harry's, even though she had insisted she didn't need the rest. Harry had only snorted in amusement when she had fallen asleep the moment her head touched the pillow.

Ron and Hermione had left for dinner and had not returned, something Harry suspected had to do with Madam Pomfrey. Most likely, the witch had told them he needed his rest. In a way, he was glad for the bit of time on his own. There were a lot of things he was preoccupied with at the moment. First, there was the Grim, which kept appearing before him. Harry had noticed that each time he saw the so-called omen of death, he came very close to proving the rumors true. Then, there were the dementors, which seemed to haunt him just as much as the Grim. Now, though, he knew who it was that he heard screaming and it was not something he was happy to find out.

If he didn't dislike the creatures before, now he had a good reason. It was not a pleasant thing to be forced to hear one's own mother begging for mercy every time a dementor was near. With this new knowledge, it was very difficult for Harry to rest. He tossed and turned, trying to dispel any thought of dementors and his mother's last moments from his mind.

"...Harry..." he heard someone call him.

"...-ke up..."

There was someone calling him, but he couldn't shake away the sleep he was in.

"Harry!"

He felt someone shake him slightly, and, finally, he awoke. Harry sat up groggily, and felt around for his glasses. They were handed to him a moment later, but the dark room still made it hard to see until his eyes adjusted. He could still make out the shape of someone standing next to his bed.

"You okay?"

Harry knew that voice, it was hard to mistake the accent.

"Mira?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered in a quiet voice. Harry supposed she didn't want Madam Pomfrey to show up. "You okay?" she asked once more.

"Yeah," Harry said. "What happened?"

"You had bad dream, so I wake you," she explained.

"Oh - er, thanks," Harry muttered awkwardly. He had never liked to have others knowing about his nightmares.

"What are you doing here?"

"I fall asleep and stayed here, just woke up," Mira said with a sigh, not sounding very happy at all.

"Well, you did kind of need the sleep," Harry pointed out.

He thought he heard an indignant huff.

"I fine, potion make me sleep," Mira defended.

Harry was now able to see more clearly, and watched as she grabbed her scarf and wand.

"Where are you going?"

Mira stopped and looked over at him.

"I go for walk. Too much time in bed and I still guard. Maybe patrol castle for a bit," she said thoughtfully.

"Isn't it late for that? You should really go back to bed, we have classes tomorrow," Harry told her.

However, Mira only waved her hand dismissively.

"It okay, I feel fine, but I go back to dorm later for some sleep," she said, adding the last part to appease Harry.

"Fine, just don't get caught by Filch," Harry muttered, lying back on the bed. "He'd love to hang you by your ankles for being up so late."

Mira just grinned, having heard the stories about old Filch. While she found him rather unpleasant, she thought it was amusing, the way he wouldn't give up on his attempts to bring back the old punishments.

"I keep that in mind," she said. "Try to sleep well."

Harry heard her take a few steps and then the room was quiet for a moment. It was only the faint sound of the door shutting softly that told him she was gone. Now alone, Harry returned to a fitful sleep.

* * *

><p>It wasn't very late at all when Mira left the hospital wing, at least not to her. Curfew had begin not long before and she had always thought it started awfully early. To be honest, she was very happy to have some time to herself. As nice as the other students were, it all got a bit overwhelming after a while. Mira was fascinated by magic, even though she wasn't very good at it. The classes were interesting for the most part, and the people were very welcoming, but even with all this, there were many things bothering her at the moment.<p>

First, there was the whole business with Black. If Mira were to be honest with herself, she would admit that she hadn't been too concerned with the escaped prisoner at first, not when Hogwarts was said to be all but impenetrable. That, of course, had changed after Halloween. A lot of things had changed after that night.

There was now, for one, the possibility of her not being alone after all. After months thinking that she was on her own, that none of her friends were there to help her, that maybe she wouldn't see them any time soon or at all, she now knew that was wrong. Someone from her world had crossed over and, if that someone was the person she had in mind, then maybe she wasn't so alone. If her partner was really in the Wizarding world, then she was sure they would be able to find a way back home.]

Of course, first she had to figure out why he was helping Black, if he _was. _As much as she thought about it, she still couldn't figure it out. Why would her partner help a murderer? Even if he didn't know who Black was, he was never one to trust others with ease. He was smart and a good judge of character, fluent in English and clever enough to know when he was being lied to. She couldn't imagine what would make him trust an escaped convict, because she knew Black didn't really look the part of an innocent man. She had seen the photos of him, after all. Mira would have to think of that later. At the moment, she would focus on keeping Harry alive.

If only she could get him to _stay on the ground_.

* * *

><p><strong>There you have it, the latest chapter. I had it ready, all I needed was to type it up, but I had a sudden bout of the flu and than kind of kept me away. Anyway, please review if you have the chance, I'd really love that. To those who have added me to their lists, thank you very much.<strong>

**Next chapter, we'll see what Dumbledore's come up with, because he's supposed to be helping Mira get back home. I have about half of the chapter written up, maybe more, I just need to type it. Hopefully, that will be interesting and things are going to change up soon. Until next time!**


	11. Chapter 11: The First Clue

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or any elements belonging to the Harry Potter series. All Harry Potter related content is the sole property of J.K. Rowling. Any OCs and unfamiliar concepts are mine.

**I hope you enjoy this chapter, to those of you who enjoyed the previous one and thank you for coming back to read. Please, if you find the time, review and tell me what you think. To those who have added this story to their favorites/alerts, thank you.  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Eleven: The First Clue<br>**

Dumbledore's office was just as lively as it had been the last time Mira had been there. The shimmering knick-knacks filling the office gave it a curious and cheerful look. It wasn't hard to imagine the type of magic in the room, one could nearly feel it. All in all, the space clearly reflected the man that occupied it.

The old wizard smiled benignly as he sat across from Mira. There was a look of immense curiosity in his eyes that Mira supposed was to be expected. She was, after all, as fascinating to wizards as they were to her. For now, though, they would push away whatever questions they had of each other's worlds and focus on more pressing matters.

Mira was there to find out how much progress had been made in their quest to get her back home. To be honest, she wasn't really expecting much, but she wanted to know Dumbledore was trying. As much as she liked Hogwarts and its occupants, she didn't want to spend the rest of her life with wizards if she could help it.

_"I must say," _Dumbledore began, speaking in Mira's own language. _"It's been very difficult to find information on inter-dimensional travel. What you have done, Miss Miyake, is not a common occurrence, even with magic."_

Mira felt her heart sink at those words. She was starting to fear that she would be stuck there for quite some time.

_"But it's possible, isn't it?" _she asked, a hint of worry in her voice. _"There must be at least some information on the topic. Stories, theories, something must be there if your people were looking into the topic, even if just for a moment."_

Dumbledore just smiled at her, his eyes twinkling in the light of the torches.

_"There is a story of an old wizard who tried to travel to other worlds," _Dumbledore revealed, and Mira listened intently to what was said next. _"This wizard was said to have wanted to explore the other types of magic out there, and the people that use it. For that, he wanted to travel to other worlds. He spent years researching and experimenting. That much is written down in this book."_

He patted a book lying on his desk. it was an old tome, large and bound in leather. Age had taken its toll on it, cracking the cover and turning the pages inside a dark yellow. It appeared, in reality, to be nothing but a battered old book, ready to fall apart at the lightest touch, but Mira still eyed it with hope and a strange sort of awe.

_"That book talks about other worlds?" _she asked.

_"This book tells only what I have revealed to you tonight," _Dumbledore clarified. _"It is the journal of a young traveling witch who happened to hear a curious story that caught her attention."_

Instantly, what little hope Mira had, disappeared.

_"So it could be a story," _she said. _"It could just be a story to entertain children that some foreigner found interesting and wrote down."_

_"It could," _Dumbledore said lightly. _"But stories usually have some truth to them, Miss Miyake. After all, witches and wizards were only a story to you."_

_"Yeah, well, witches and wizards don't exist in my worlds," _Mira sighed.

_"And I'm sure if you decided to tell your friends back in your world about us, it would make a wonderful story. But that wouldn't make us any less real."_

Mira stared at Dumbledore and felt the corners of her mouth twitch. Finally, she smiled faintly at the headmaster.

_"I suppose you've got me there, Headmaster," _she admitted. _"But even if there was some fact to the story, wouldn't it be hard to find it?"_

_"That," _Dumbledore said, standing from his seat. _"Is just one small challenge we'll have to overcome, but I'm confident we'll find something. In the meantime, I suggest you return to your common room, Miss Miyake. I'm afraid curfew will begin soon and your friends must be wondering where you are."_

Mira let the old wizard lead her to the door, but stopped as it was opened.

_"Thank you for your help, Headmaster," _she said. _"And I'm - er - sorry. I should have done something during the Quidditch match," _she apologized with a frown.

_"It's quite alright, Miss Miyake. Actually, I'm glad that you didn't interfere this time," _Dumbledore told her calmly, surprising Mira. _"As remarkable as your abilities are, I'm not sure it is yet time for the students ti witness them and Harry was safe with all the teachers there to help. Now, go get some rest and here," _he handed her the old book he had shown her. _"See if you find anything of interest."_

Mira took the heavy book and smiled at the Headmaster.

"Thank you, Headmaster," she said, switching back to English. She turned and walked out the door, somehow feeling better than she had in a while.

* * *

><p>Both Harry and Mira were in higher spirits in the weeks following. It seemed that Professor Lupin had agreed to help Harry deal with his dementor problem, something that the young wizard was very glad for. After learning that the Gryffindor Quidditch team still had a chance at the cup, it seemed all the more important for Harry to deal with the dementors. He did not want a repeat of their last match.<p>

The team was training harder than ever, fully ignoring the cold December drizzle. It was a regular occurrence to see them trudge into the common room, cold, exhausted, but fully committed. The team didn't complain, glad that they were getting another shot. Of course, Mira still thought they were insane for flying in such cold weather, but she didn't really complain. She was often too busy to do so, and she knew it was pointless as wizards were rather obsessed with the sport.

Most of her time was occupied with three things. One, was reading the book Dumbledore had given her. It was unfortunate that, as the Headmaster had said, it didn't offer much information of value. Still, Mira searched for any clues when she could. She was, however, aware that they could just be chasing a fairytale. To compensate for this, she diligently studied runes, trying to gain a better understanding of how they worked and what they could do. The reason for this was simple.

In her world, the first portals to the demon world were opened with the power of runes, granted they were different. They were a combination of runes used for transport, symbols of the demon world and complex seals that made it possible for them to arrive in one piece. It had taken the first of her kind a very long time to arrange everything properly and then figure out just how much power to put into it. Any error could result in anything from missing limbs to the forceful separation of the soul and body. Mira did _not_ want to make any mistakes.

The trouble was that she wasn't very familiar with runes in general and she would have to reinvent the seal to open a portal. The task was made more difficult by the fact that she would have to properly translate the correct time and location without even knowing exactly where she was, relative to the location of her world. Even if she managed to do all that, it would most certainly require a great deal of power, and she wasn't sure she had it in her. It would do no good to return to her world and drop dead a moment later because she burned out her core. All in all, she _really_ needed help.

When all of that became too much for her, she turned to magic to help her relax. A lot of her time was spent practicing spells, though none that were too complicated. She was still having trouble casting anything, but she did well enough in the theoretical part of class. Potions, however, she was still horrible with. She didn't know if it was the fact that it involved very distasteful ingredients, how much it resembled cooking(something she was dreadful with), the fact that the teacher was one of the worse people she had even encountered, or a mixture of all of those reasons, but she just couldn't do better than what was barely acceptable. It was something Snape was quick to point out.

None of that mattered, however, when the holiday season began and the castle was suddenly shimmering with ornaments, making the place seem more magical than ever before. Mira was in awe at the beauty of it all and often found herself staring at things, much to the amusement of Harry, Ron and Hermione, who took it upon themselves to drag her away from Flitwick's classroom, where real fairies served as Christmas lights.

"It's like she's never known Christmas," Ron commented, shaking his head as him and his two friends watched Mira stare at the grounds outside, now covered in snow. "You don't think they didn't have Christmas where she's from?" he asked after a moment.

"We have Christmas," Mira responded, having shaken herself out of her brief trance. "Just not like this."

"Well, that's to be expected," Hermione commented. "Since there's no magic in your world, you wouldn't be able to do anything like what we do here for the Holidays. Just wait until you see the Great Hall once it's decorated," she said eagerly, with a fond look in her eyes as she herself looked forward to it.

Mira grinned, quite eager to see it.

"So, how _did _you spend Christmas in your world?" Harry asked.

He knew Mira couldn't have had a completely normal Christmas with the type of work she did.

"We decorate too, but not like this, not so much time," she answered. "We stay in base and celebrate together. One friend, Yuu, he makes icicles with his power. He hang them all over dining room and tree but they don't melt quick. On Christmas Day we give presents. It short and small party, but we look forward to it."

And indeed, there was a melancholic smile on her face. Quite clearly, she missed her friends, and the holidays would only remind her of what she had left behind.

When they reached the common room, they received news that easily distracted them. There would be a Hogsmeade trip on the last week of term, something everyone was very enthusiastic about. Except Harry, of course. He was still rather down about not being able to visit. Mira offered to stay with him that day, as she wasn't really fond of cold weather, but Harry said she should go. He could see, through her excuses, that she wanted to visit the village, especially after hearing about the other student's plans to do their Christmas shopping there. As much as Harry appreciated the gesture, he didn't want Mira to miss out on something like that because of him. She already had to endure bitter winds during Quidditch practice and long sleepless nights patrolling the castle.

The day of the trip, Harry borrowed a copy of Which Broomstick from Oliver Wood with the intention of picking a new broomstick. He saw his three friends off to Hogsmeade, all of them wrapped in warm clothing and thick scarves. They all looked very sorry to leave him, but Harry insisted that he would be fine.

"Harry, please stay in common room," Mira told him quietly before she left with Ron and Hermione. "In case something happen, it safe there."

Harry felt a bit irritated at being told to stay in a safe place after all he had done the previous years. He knew Mira meant well, but he didn't need her to fret so much. He could take care of himself, and he told her so.

"I know you can," she said calmly, not at all insulted. "But _I _worry, because I don't know this place so good. I have job, but you also friend and Black got in before. Just please be careful."

After that calm admittance that she knew he could look after himself, Harry couldn't be too mad at her. He agreed to be careful in the end, and his friends left shortly after. Harry headed back to the Gryffindor tower, intent on finding a replacement to his old broom, but a certain pair of twins had other plans for him.

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><p><strong>Sorry for the wait, but I had a very busy time since the last update and my notebook just laid there gathering dust. I finally got around to typing what I had written and finished this chapter up today. It's not as long as I would have liked, but I do hope you enjoy it. <strong>

**Anyways, please review if you have the time and to those who have, thank you very much. It really makes my day when I get a review. Also, thanks to the kind people who have added this story to their favorites and/or alerts. Hope you've enjoyed this chapter.**


	12. Chapter 12: The Chase and the Truth

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or any elements belonging to the Harry Potter series. All Harry Potter related content is the sole property of J.K. Rowling. Any OCs and unfamiliar concepts are mine.

**I hope you enjoy this chapter, to those of you who enjoyed the previous one and thank you for coming back to read. Please, if you find the time, review and tell me what you think. To those who have added this story to their favorites/alerts, thank you.  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter Twelve: The Chase and the Truth<br>**

Hogsmeade wasn't anything like what Mira had expected. In many ways, it was so much more than she could have ever imagined.

Cobblestone streets broke through the little village, the streets lined with charming little shops. Their thatched roofs were white with snow, and the swirling flakes sparkles in the dim sunlight, gathering as it touched the ground. It was all a surreal sight, like nothing she could have ever hoped to see. There was only one way to describe it; magic.

Students hurried forward, heading to their favorite shops, or exploring new ones. There was so much to see, so much to do, Mira had no idea where to go first. Fortunately, she was with Ron and Hermione, who had been to the village before and knew the places she really should see. Quite predictably, the first shop they stopped to visit was Honeydukes, something Mira wholly agreed with. It was a well known fact back in her home that she had a bit(or more than a bit) of a sweet tooth, and at the moment, she had enough wizarding gold to purchase at least a few candy bars and a decent present for each of her new friends. Before Ron and Hermione knew it, she was gone, lost in the sea of Hogwarts students and sweets, her short stature making her all but impossible to find her. For a moment, Hermione panicked, but Ron reassured her. Their strange friend would be fine, and they should start looking for something to get for Harry.

Mira was already looking through the shelves of brightly wrapped candies, glad to be out of the castle for a bit. As inviting as the school was, it was good to get out once in a while, and cold nights at the Quidditch pitch did _not _count. Hogsmeade was a nice contrast to the shadowed halls and constantly moving portraits, the classes and students and teachers walking around, reminders that it was still a _school. _But as quaint as the village was, with it's picture perfect looks and fascinating shops, it still wasn't home, and that was the only place she really wanted to go to.

A student, older than her, bumped into her, snapping her out of her homesick thoughts. She nodded at the quick apology offered and then turned to head to another shelf, but stopped as the air changed, growing familiar, the feeling faint and growing fainter as she stood there, surprised. Mira knew what that feeling was, she had grown accustomed to it, had lived with it back in her world, where she was constantly in the presence of others like her. Because that aura she felt could belong to only a person with powers like her own, and of the handful that fit that requirement, there was only one she suspected could be there.

In a hurry, Mira left the shop and stepped out into the snowy streets, the cold wind hitting her sharply, but she ignored it. Her eyes scanned the area around her, a sea of black cloaks and chattering students. She could feel the air shifting, the new feeling growing fainter, she was being left behind. In a panic, she stepped out of the way of the crowd threatening to carry her off and concentrated. It was a hard thing to do, when magic swirled around the place, seeming to emanate from the very _ground._ But she wouldn't give up, she wouldn't let him get away when he was so close. And then, she felt it, walking off towards the hills on the farther reaches of the village, where little cottages littered the area and then faded into a forest, deep and wide and too far for her to get to.

If she wanted to get any answers, she would have to hurry, and so she did. Mira took off in the direction she knew was right, dodging people and offering rushed apologies, never stopping long enough to listen to anything they might have to say. Closer and closer she got, and she could feel the person nearby. Her gaze traveled around frantically, searching quickly and carefully at the same time. And then she saw him, it was only a glimpse, but even from the back, she could never mistake him, her friend and comrade. His short brown hair was visible through a crowd of students, just for a moment, and then he was gone, moving again, and she followed without a thought. Just a bit more, a couple more meters and she would reach him, touch him, pull him back and ask him what the hell was going on, why he hadn't contacted her.

And then her path was blocked, black flooding her eyesight, previously focused on her partner, and she stopped abruptly. When she looked up, she saw who stood in her way, and could have screamed in frustration.

"Malfoy," she said, before the smirking blond could speak.

"Well, if it isn't the foreigner Potter's added to his sad little group," he sneered.

The two goons on either side of him laughed stupidly. Mira's eyes narrowed in a glare, and while she had always seen Malfoy as a mere inconvenience - an annoyance at best - she truly wanted to punch the young wizard at that moment. She couldn't, she knew that, knew the consequences, but it was so tempting, and it would be so much easier to get rid of the boy that way. But he was a student, and she had punched demons with harder skin than him. The girl couldn't afford to really hurt him out of frustration.

"You are in the way," she said, all too aware of her friend's aura growing fainter.

"Where's Potter's idiot friends? Ditched you, have they?"

Clearly, he was trying to elicit a response from her, but Mira didn't have time to play those games. There were more important things to do. And so she moved around the boys, passing next to Goyle and was behind them before Malfoy could turn.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Malfoy called out, clearly irritated at being ignored.

Mira ignored him, of course, and kept walking, her steps quick.

"Stupefy!"

As soon as the word left Malfoy's mouth, Mira ducked to the side, knowing she didn't have the time to turn if she wanted to avoid the curse. She took out her wand, knowing she wasn't quick enough, or good enough to cast a spell before Malfoy, but then, she was fast enough to dodge and smart enough to improvise something. She pointed her wand at the blond and muttered some gibberish German word her partner had taught her, horribly mangled trough her accent, but good enough to _sound _like a spell. In a flash, she channeled some of her power through her wand without changing it to magic, and let it travel towards Malfoy, a black blur that hit the blond squarely on the chest. The boy was thrown back and Mira took her chance to run off in an attempt to catch up to her partner.

In the distance, she though she could hear Malfoy screaming, probably out of anger, since the 'spell' she had used had been pretty useless. It would have felt like he had been punched, really, and would probably leave a nasty bruise, but no lasting damage would be made, not with the low strength level she used. But all of that was pushed to the back of her mind as soon as she was away from the Slytherin wizards.

The snow crunched beneath her feet as she followed the tracks of whom she thought was her partner. A feeling of anticipation - hope and a sort of dread she couldn't explain mixed in - swept over her, growing with each step. And then the forest was before her, near the Shrieking Shack, and there was no one. There was only wind and snow and the lonely feeling that was left after coming so close to reuniting with a friend only to be left behind. For a while, Mira stood there, looking around the area, then she searched for any sign of her friend having been there. As was to be expected, there was none left. With a sigh, she turned and headed back to the village, where the students were still milling around.

She had been away for a good while and didn't think Ron and Hermione would still be at the sweets shop they had first visited. Resigned to having to look for her friends, she began to look through shops that she thought they might be in. Her mind, however, was still with the unexpected sighting of that day, and she was glad she had visited the village, even if she hadn't been able to make any contact with her friend.

The Three Broomsticks was filled with young wizards from Hogwarts, Mira could see that from outside. She recalled Ron and Hermione mentioning the place earlier, and with the cold weather, it seemed like a good place to search. As soon as she entered, she was wrapped in a warmth and a sense of welcome that was extremely pleasant, considering the day's events. And then she saw her friends, well hidden in a corner behind a Christmas tree and looking very focused on the table closest to them. The table occupied by Hagrid, Professors McGonagall and Flitwick, and Cornelius Fudge himself. They were chatting with a woman who seemed to be the barmaid.

Immediately, Mira knew the two young wizards were up to something. They hadn't seen her, too focused on eavesdropping, it appeared, and they were clearly trying to keep from being seen. But why would that be? Almost as soon as that thought had crossed her mind, she knew the answer to it. There, beneath the table, clearly doing his best to hide, was Harry. He clutched an empty tankard and looked enthralled in whatever the teachers and Fudge were talking about. But he wasn't supposed to be there. Carefully, she made her way to the front of the pub, where she could keep an eye on her new friends while staying far enough to keep from being spotted. She ordered a drink like most of the other students, butterbeer, it was called. It was a strange name, but she wouldn't dwell on it(wizards, in general, were strange).

She observed her friends carefully, though it was hard due to the oddly placed tree. Their expressions were worried, maybe even concerned, but of what? What could the adult wizards be talking about, and if it was such a serious topic, why discuss it in a pub filled with children?

_'It'll probably make it harder to be overheard," _she though.

Of course, the same rules that applied to everyone else, were useless to her new friends. They had a habit of running into more information than they should, she had noticed with amusement. She sat there for a couple of minutes, sipping at her drink - her surprisingly good drink - and wondering how long she'd have to stay there. Once, Hagrid had shouted out something rather loudly, but was quieted by McGonagall and Mira was unable to hear over the laughter and talking of the students. Finally, after a short while later, the teachers and Minister began to leave, the cold wind rushing in as the door opened and shut, and Mira noticed her friends looking _under _the table. Her eyes narrowed and she approached the wizards.

"Hello," she said as she stopped before her friends, making them jump at the sudden greeting.

They turned to look at her as she pushed the Christmas tree aside a bit, just enough so she could take a seat. Her eyes flickered to Harry, who still sat under the table.

"Get up," she said, sitting down on an empty seat.

Harry seemed a bit strange, dazed maybe, like he was thinking about something. Whatever had been discussed had affected the young wizards.

"So, why Harry here?" she asked the other two, knowing it would be easier to get an answer out of them.

They shot each other nervous looks, before Ron answered.

"He just wanted to see the village," he spoke as daringly as he could. "And it's not like he's alone."

_'Ah, so they _can _tell I'm not happy,'_ she mused.

"How?" her tone was clipped and she glanced at Harry.

The other two hesitated, but eventually, Hermione spoke up.

"Maybe we should talk about this back in the castle," she suggested.

Mira agreed, she wanted Harry back at Hogwarts before something happened, and there was still the matter of what they students had overheard. They would have a lot to discuss that night. But first, she had to make sure Harry made it back to the castle safely.

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><p>Supper was quite that evening, a tense air hanging over the group of friends. Harry was still very much bothered by whatever it was he had heard at the pub, and as much as Mira wanted to know how he had gotten into the village, she wouldn't pry, not yet. Ron and Hermione, however, had no excuse, and so it was them that she interrogated in the common room that night, while Harry was in the boys' dormitory.<p>

They told her everything, however hesitant they were at first. She understood they thought it was Harry who should be the one to tell the story, but still, she needed to know what was going on. This was especially true if it was something that would affect her task, and as it turned out, it was.

Dumbledore hadn't told her much about Sirius Black, just the same things that old newspapers and books could tell her. He was a servant of Voldemort, a Death Eater, as they said. Obviously, he wanted Harry dead because he had been the one to defeat his so-called master. But nothing about Black having more to do with the boy was mentioned. To hear that he was not only the best friend of Harry's parents, but also the young wizard's godfather, was a shock. And it made her wonder how someone so close to the Potter's could have betrayed them.

Why would a man who, by all accounts, was firmly against anything having to do with dark magic, befriend someone like Black? Could he have been such a good actor that he had fooled the Potter's for years? Mira doubted it, he was too close to them if they went so far as to name him Harry's godfather in a time in which no one could be trusted. From what little she had been told of the war, everyone was careful of what they said and did, even in the face of those they thought were friends. To put so much trust in Black had to mean that the Potters wouldn't think him capable of betraying them.

But that was all just _part _of what this new information had brought out. If her partner was helping Black, then could the man _really _be after Harry? She knew her friend better than anyone, and he was not one to trust others with ease. To think he would help Black at all meant that he knew more than any of the wizards. Perhaps he had another goal in mind, but what could that be, and then, why attack the Gryffindor portrait so violently? For the time being, Black would remain as a danger to Harry in her mind, at least until she could figure out what was _really_ going on.

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><p><strong>Oh wow, it took me so long to get this done, but life's been horribly busy, and I still had to work on my original stories in fictionpress. Anyways, I hope you like this chapter, though it had a lot less Harry than the others. I do need to give a few chapters to Mira, just to show a bit more of what is going on with her, but the next chapter should have more of the HP characters in it. Hopefully, it will also have more dialogue. I love writing dialogue, so this was a hard chapter for me to write.<strong>

**So, thanks to all those who have added me to their lists and reviewed this story. Please review if you have the chance, and I hope you like the rest of the story. Until next time!**


	13. Chapter 13: Holiday Blues

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or any elements belonging to the Harry Potter series. All Harry Potter related content is the sole property of J.K. Rowling. Any OCs and unfamiliar concepts are mine.

**I hope you enjoy this chapter, to those of you who enjoyed the previous one and thank you for coming back to read. Please, if you find the time, review and tell me what you think. To those who have added this story to their favorites/alerts, thank you.  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter Thirteen: Holiday Blues<br>**

The day after the visit was cold, with snow drifting down to the grounds and blanketing the school in shimmering powder. Mira would have thought it was rather pretty if she hadn't been preoccupied with other things. And she was getting very tired of always having something to worry about. For as long as she had stayed in Hogwarts, she had always had something to think about, a mystery to solve or someone to be concerned over and her mind was feeling the strain. The burden of being alone in a new world, of not knowing how to get back, it was hard to bear, and the task of getting home was a daunting one. But she had always managed to distract herself for small stretches of time, to talk and joke with the other students and focus on homework to forget.

Now though, it was the holidays, and there was no one around in the hall, granted it was early. Still, she knew most of the school had gone home, back to their families. And now, as she walked through the deserted halls, she felt lonelier than she had in a while. She missed her friends, her home, and she was starting to feel very angry at her partner for hiding from her. Mira had taken a walk around the grounds, just to see if there was any signs of him. He had to be close, after all. When she found nothing, she wasn't surprised in the least. With one last look at the snow covered grounds, she headed back inside and to the common room. She still had a job to do, after all, and with the castle so deserted, she would have to watch Harry closely, especially after the events of the previous day.

As soon as the entrance to the common room opened, Mira knew Harry wasn't in the best of moods. He was arguing with Ron and Hermione about Black, and at the moment, he was reminding them of just exactly what he had lost because of the man.

"I'll never know what they'd have wanted, because thanks to Black, I've never spoken to them," said Harry to Hermione, and Mira knew he was talking about his parents.

In the silence that resulted from that, Ron and Hermione noticed Mira had just entered the room and, unfortunately, Hermione expected _her_ to be the voice of reason, if the look she was giving her was anything to go by.

"Mira, tell him you won't let him go after Black," she said.

Honestly, if Harry wanted to, there wasn't much she could do but follow along and make sure Black didn't kill him. She liked Harry, he was a good friend, but she didn't know him, not enough to dictate much on what he could and could not do, and he was already being gracious enough by letting her keep watch over him, because she knew to Harry it was a big deal. He didn't need to be protected, he could take care of himself, that was what he thought, and no matter how much danger he was in, he wouldn't change his mind on that matter, and Mira could respect that streak of independence.

"You don't know what it feels like," Harry said. "You don't know what it's like to know the person who killed your parents is out there."

Mira sighed and looked at the young wizard.

"No, I don't,"she told him. "Harry, I don't have family. They killed long time ago, by demons."

And that seemed to get the wizards' attention.

"I kill them, but it didn't help, it still hurt. Then I get friends, and they help, now it not hurt so much," she finished with a shrug.

"I can't say what you can do, but I can keep you safe. Ron and Hermione try to keep you safe too, because they care, they are friends, so try to listen, yes?"

There was another pause, but not as tense as before, and maybe it was because Harry had remembered that his friends were only trying to help. But he was still so angry, so disappointed. No one had told him anything about Black, at least not anything that mattered, and now he was expected to sit by and let other people deal with the man who had taken so much from him.

"Look," said Ron, obviously casting around for a change of subject, "it's the holidays! It's nearly Christmas! Let's - let's go down and see Hagrid. We haven't visited him for ages!"

"Ron!" Hermione said quickly. "Harry shouldn't leave the castle, it's dangerous and-"

"Yeah, let's go," said Harry, sitting up, "and I can ask him how come he never mentioned Black when he told me all about my parents!"

"Harry," Mira called. "Hagrid probably told not to. It not his fault."

But Harry wasn't listening, and neither did he agree to Ron's suggestions of playing chess or Gobstones. Clearly, Hermione wanted Mira to say something, to keep Harry from going outside, but it was like Mira had said, she couldn't tell Harry what to do. All she could do was try to make him see things in another light, because she knew Hagrid didn't keep quiet out of spite, but out of kindness. He didn't want Harry to worry about Black, not when he was supposed to _stay _imprisoned, no one wanted him to know something that would only upset him when there was nothing that could be done to change things. Nothing to make Harry's parents return.

"Just be careful, come back before dark, yes?"

"You're not coming?" Hermione asked, both curious and indignant.

Mira knew she was worried about Harry, so she smiled faintly and shook her head. She didn't want to get in the way of their visit, and she wasn't as close to the giant as the others. Besides, Harry would probably like to spend some time without her following behind as a constant reminder of who was after him. Sometimes, she thought, they all needed a break from each other.

"I have work, I walk with you, but not stay."

And since that was the most they would get from Mira that day, Hermione agreed. She saw the three friends off and then returned to the castle once they had reached the giant's cabin. She knew she should have stayed with them,made sure they were fine, but Hagrid was with them, he would look after them, and she had things to do. First on her list, was speaking to Dumbledore about Black.

The Headmaster's office, however, required a password, one that she didn't know, and she didn't particularly feel like sitting outside to wait. Besides, the gargoyle guarding the entrance creeped her out. In the end, she resolved to go back to the common room and see if she could get her phone -though she thought more of it as a communicator- to work. Mira wasn't an expert on it though, and if any other hunter was around, their energy could be disrupted by the magic shielding the castle.

That was another thing she had noticed, the magic seemed to affect her own energy. Maybe it was because they were similar, but not quite the same, or maybe it was because she shouldn't even _exist _ in that world. Whatever the case was, it made her feel smothered, and it was annoying. But it wasn't just that her energy was being repressed, the magic she could manage was limited and she knew she would never be able to do anything too complex. She wasn't a true witch, and she was fine with that. Just as long as her own powers weren't affect too much.

Now though, it was making it difficult for her to try to pinpoint any energy that might belong to her partner, even though it should be easy to do, considering there were only two of them in the whole _world. _The magic was hiding any trace of him though, and it almost felt like she was reaching out blindly and he was hidden behind a wall. Her communicator had no chance of working under such conditions, it had trouble keeping hold of any signal it got, and in the end, she gave up on that as well. There was nothing she could do now but wait, no matter how much she hated it, because she wasn't going to be leaving any time soon.

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><p>Harry hadn't said anything to Hagrid about Black, maybe because he knew Hagrid hadn't meant any harm. The giant had always been very honest with them, and Harry couldn't be mad at him. He was, however, still upset. He wanted revenge, and it didn't matter what anyone said. For a while though, he was distracted by the change of character in his strange guard.<p>

Mira was frustrated, all three young wizards could tell, but they didn't know why. It had been a sudden change too, with no clear reason. After all, there were many things that she should be upset about, but she had never been so irritable before. Sometimes, she would just sit in the common room, reading the same book over and over again, but she never really told them why and would retreat to the dormitory most of the time, not feeling like conversing. Other times, she would just give short answers to anything they said, always distracted by something else.

Ron didn't worry too much, he never really did. He thought maybe she was just bored, since there were so few students. Maybe she was tired of following them around. Harry didn't think that was it, and neither did Hermione.

"Maybe she's upset over the holidays," Hermione suggested one night, while they were alone in the common room.

Mira had left to the dormitory a while ago, claiming to be tired, and she did look like she needed rest.

"She hasn't seen her friends in months and now she's probably thinking about them. It must be hard, not knowing when she'll see them again," she said, and there was a note of pity in her voice.

"But it's not like she's alone," Ron spoke up.

"It's not the same, Ron. She hardly knows us and you know how hard she's been trying to go back to her home. It must be awful, not spending the holidays with family and friends," Hermione finished with a sigh.

They were quiet after that, and Harry thought that Hermione was right, maybe Mira was just feeling homesick. She hadn't really seemed upset since she arrived, at least not too much, but now she always seemed to have something on her mind. Something was bothering her, and Harry was curious as to what it was.

He got his chance to ask the day before Christmas.

Mira was sitting in the common room early that morning, working on that strange 'phone' she had shown him. She looked annoyed, nearly scowling at the artifact in her hands. A few of the buttons lit up for a moment and then the screen, which had been white and filled with characters, blacked out. With a frustrated sound, and a few muttered words(Harry strongly suspected they were curses) Mira tossed the artifact onto the table before her.

"Good morning, Harry," she said, without turning.

Harry blinked and walked over to her.

"'Morning," he said. "How long did you know I was there?"

"Since you came down," she answered, glaring over at the phone.

She sighed and looked over at Harry.

"It very early to be up."

Harry just gave her a look that clearly said he thought the same and Mira couldn't help but grin a bit as she leaned over to pick up the phone.

"It nice, not worrying about hiding things," she said, waving the device she had been working on.

Harry knew what she meant. With nearly the whole Gryffindor house away for the holidays, she could openly research ways to get home, just like Harry could talk with Ron and Hermione about Black without worrying about anyone overhearing. It seemed that Mira was enjoying this new freedom.

"Does it work better?" Harry asked, looking at the phone.

Mira sighed and shook her head.

"No, still no good signal, not, uh..." she searched for the work she needed, "not keep signal well, it flickers on and off."

Her brow furrowed again and she looked at the device thoughtfully before starting to press more buttons on it again. She was frowning, and Harry remembered what he had talked about with Ron and Hermione. He supposed now was as good a time as any to try to see if he could find out why Mira was in such a bad mood.

"When does school start?" Mira asked before he could think of a good way to ask.

"Huh? Oh, just a bit after New Year," he said. "Why?"

"Just curious," she said with a shrug.

She paused for a moment and looked at Harry.

"It always this empty?" she asked. "During Christmas."

"No, I guess not, but I suppose no one wanted to stay with Black on the loose."

"Ah, right," Mira answered, going back to the black device in her hand.

"How are you doing?" she asked, and then glanced at the young wizard. "You know, because of Black."

She had realized that she hadn't really asked Harry much about that, having left Ron and Hermione to talk to Harry. They knew him better than she did, after all, and she had her own problems. In hindsight, she supposed it was rather uncaring on her part, but she thought it best not to pry too much and remind Harry about the whole thing.

"Fine, I guess," was Harry's short answer.

"Still mad, huh," Mira said, not looking away from her work, the signal was flickering on and off more rapidly now.

"Wouldn't you be?"

She heard the irritation in his voice and sighed.

"Sure," she said.

Mira didn't really feel like getting into an argument with Harry at the moment. Apparently, neither did he, because he said nothing about her bland answer.

"What about you?" he asked after a while. "Aren't you upset over the holidays?"

Mira arched an eyebrow and shook her head, still trying to _keep _the damn signal from disappearing.

"No, why should I?" and she really was curious about why Harry thought she would be.

Sure, the castle was a bit creepy when it was that quiet and it was pretty boring most of the time. Admittedly, she had felt rather lonely at the start, but she had worked through that after a while. It wasn't like it was the first time she spent the holidays alone. Plus, it really _was _nice to not have to work in secret and she didn't have to see Snape for a while, so that was good too.

"Don't you miss your friends?" he asked.

"Sure, but I'll get home someday. I'll see them again," she answered calmly.

It was something she had though about before, but she had realized there was no point in worrying. If the portal she opened was done properly then she had a chance of going back at the same time she had left so she wouldn't even miss Christmas.

To Harry though, this was unexpected. Both him and Hermione had been sure that was why Mira was looking so unhappy as of late. Mira noticed the slight look of confusion on Harry's face though.

"What is it? Something wrong?"

"Er, no, it's just," Harry began. "Well, you just seem, er, upset."

Mira stopped working and looked at Harry with a blank face. So that was it then, that was what the trio of friends had been muttering about lately. They thought she was upset about the prospect of spending Christmas alone. Of all the things that she had to worry about, _that _was the one thing they thought really bothered her. It was kind of funny really, and Mira couldn't help the way her mouth twitched, or the laugh that left her after.

"You think it because of holidays?"

"Well, uh, yeah," Harry said simply.

"Harry, there other things I worry about," Mira said, and then she realized she hadn't told Harry about her near encounter with her partner.

"That day in the village(because she really couldn't say Hogsmeade without sounding ridiculous, not with her accent) I see friend, partner" she confessed. "I feel him nearby, so I follow, but I couldn't get to him. He left, but I know it him."

And there was so much frustration in her words that Harry knew that was what had been bothering her.

"But why is he running away if you're friends?" he asked.

"Don't know," Mira said with a sigh of defeat. "But he is, and I can't find him and this thing not work right."

She glared at the device in her hand, almost wanting to crush the damn thing. After a moment though, she tossed it onto the table in front of her and sank back in the armchair she was occupying.

"It frustrating," she admitted. "Not doing anything or knowing why he's not here. And it make me angry, thinking he's hiding, and maybe he helps Black. I worry, about going home, about him."

Harry supposed that compared to that, worrying about the holidays seemed ridiculous. Now he felt a bit stupid really, for thinking otherwise.

"He must have a good reason though," he tried. "I mean, you said he's your friend, so there must be a reason why he hasn't talked to you."

There had to be, because Harry didn't want to think that someone who had the type of power Mira had was working with Black. It was too horrible a thought and then there was the fact that Mira trusted this friend of hers.

"Yeah," she said. "I know, I find out."

And she would, even if she had to search all over Britain to get an answer from her friend. She smiled faintly and then pocketed her phone and stood.

"I think I need food," she said with a grin, feeling a bit better. "I meet you there with the others."

She left after that, heading to the Great Hall, and Harry was left to puzzle over the new information she had given him. Things were getting more and more confusing and Harry didn't know where to start trying to figure things out, but he guessed trying to catch Black was as good a place as any.

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><p><strong>Well there you have it, the new chapter, and I dunno how I feel about this one, but it's been a while since I updated so I felt I had to post something. Anyways, next up is Christmas! And Mira will be a bit more preoccupied with her owns problems for a bit so Harry gets some more freedom(to get in trouble).<strong>

** I'll try to update sooner this time around so please review if you get the chance, and thanks to everyone who has reviewed or added this story to their favorite/alerts!**


	14. Chapter 14: The Call

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or any elements belonging to the Harry Potter series. All Harry Potter related content is the sole property of J.K. Rowling. Any OCs and unfamiliar concepts are mine.

**I hope you enjoy this chapter, to those of you who enjoyed the previous one and thank you for coming back to read. Please, if you find the time, review and tell me what you think. To those who have added this story to their favorites/alerts, thank you.  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter Fourteen: The Call<br>**

Christmas morning dawned with the usual stack of presents at the foot of Harry's bed. As always, there was a sweater from Mrs. Weasley(scarlet with a lion on the front), mince pies, Christmas cake, and some nut brittle. However, he was not expecting the long, thin package buried beneath the other presents. With much excitement, the package was opened, wrapping paper ripped away and tossed carelessly onto the ground to reveal the most magnificent broomstick Harry had ever seen: a Firebolt.

As soon as it was revealed, the object became the center of the boys' attention, and not without reason. It was sleek and glittering, nearly humming as it hovered in the air, enticing them to ride it. There was no card or any other type of clue hinting at who had sent such a lavish gift and both Ron and Harry spent the next few minutes theorizing on who would send Harry such a gift. Immediately, his relatives were out of the running, but in truth, there weren't many who would go through so much trouble(not to mention, spend so much) for Harry, even if he was the so-called savior of the Wizarding world.

It was not long after that their dormitory door opened and Hermione walked in, her cat Crookshanks in her arms. Behind her was Mira, already eating one of the Chocolate Frogs she had received from her friends. Both girls were just as surprised about the gift as Harry and Ron had been, though Mira showed less interest in it than Hermione, who frowned at hearing the sender was a mystery. It wasn't long before Hermione expressed that she thought no one should ride the broom just yet. And Mira could see her point, but she could also see the boys' point. How would Black buy a broomstick?

_'Magic,'_ her mind provided dryly.

Before an argument about the broom could begin, Crookshanks, who had been observing Ron's rat, hidden in his pocket, pounced. The cat clawed at the boy's chest, eliciting loud yells from him, demanding Hermione to take the animal away. He tried to kick the cat after he tossed it away by it's tail, but hit Harry's trunk instead, knocking it over. From the trunk fell the Sneakoscope Ron had given his friend for his birthday, whistling shrilly and making more of a racket. In short, it was pure chaos, and it had taken only a few moments for it to begin.

In the end, Hermione had left with her cat, still furious about the treatment her pet had received at Ron's hands, but the redhead was just as furious as her. Mira chose to let Harry deal with Ron, and left with Hermione instead.

After that, the mood had grown considerably darker amongst the friends, and both Mira and Harry had given up on getting the bickering pair to reconcile(though Mira hadn't really tried very much at all). Harry spent most of his time admiring his new broom, much to the annoyance of Hermione, and Mira decided to work on some runes that she thought could be of use to her. It was dull work, but it was nice to be able to work openly, and she wouldn't have a lot more time to do so. It was a relief when lunchtime came around and they headed down to the Great Hall.

There was only one long table now, since not many people had stayed(only three other students sat at the table). The rest of the crowd was made up by the Hogwarts staff. The group of friends took their seats, and Mira had to admit, she was pretty impressed with the food splayed out before them, even if she wasn't familiar with some dishes. Then, there were the party favors; noisemakers and crackers that exploded with a loud noise, party hats bursting out of them. It was, to put it simply, unlike anything she had experienced before, and in the end, she felt a bit glad that she was able to experience such fantastic events, even if it was all very strange and, sometimes, ridiculous to her.

The feast was great, and everyone left with their bellies full of turkey and pudding and a bunch of other foods that Mira could hardly even pronounce the names of(because what kind of name was chipolatas?) and party hats still on their heads. It wasn't long before she drifted off to sleep on an armchair by the fire, too comfortable and full of food to even _want _to fight away the sleep. Harry, on the other hand, busied himself with his new broom, or more like, he sat with Ron, admiring it when he was unable to find anything to polish, tweak or adjust.

And then Hermione returned, and with her was McGonagall. Without a word, the young witch walked to a chair and sat on it, using a book to hide her face, and Harry knew something was wrong. The professor, in the meantime, fixed her sharp gaze on the Firebolt, not wasting time on asking to see it(though she did not wait for an answer). It was around this time that Mira finally woke up, thanks to the voices of the ones around her.

"Hmm. And there was no note at all, Potter? No card? No message of any kind?" the professor said, ignoring the girl who was now sitting up, rubbing at her eyes and trying to figure out what was going on.

"No," said Harry blankly.

"I see…" said Professor McGonagall. "Well, I'm afraid I will have to take this, Potter**."**

And that was when Mira figured out what was going on and she knew this wouldn't end well.

"W - what?" said Harry, scrambling to his feet. "Why?"

"It will need to be checked for jinxes," said Professor McGonagall. "Of course, I'm no expert, but I daresay Madam Hooch and Professor Flitwick will strip it down -"

"Strip it down?" repeated Ron, as though Professor McGonagall was mad.

"It shouldn't take more than a few weeks," said Professor McGonagall. "You will have it back if we are sure it is jinx-free."

"There's nothing wrong with it!" said Harry, his voice shaking slightly. "Honestly, Professor -"

"You can't know that, Potter," said Professor McGonagall, quite kindly, "not until you've flown it, at any rate, and I'm afraid that is out of the question until we are certain that it has not been tampered with. I shall keep you informed."

Mira watched as Harry's face fell as McGonagall began to head out of the room with the Firebolt.

"Professor," she called, hurrying up onto her feet.

The older witch turned back with a questioning look.

"Is it that, um, possible, this is a trap?" she asked. "It too much trouble, no?"

McGonagall's brow furrowed at this and she looked at the girl sternly.

"Miss Miyake, I would think you of all people would realize the severity of this, especially since it is your responsibility to make sure Mr. Potter is safe. In all honesty, I expected you to be the one to bring this up, not Miss Granger," she berated, and Mira could see her point.

"Yes, so it my responsibility to make sure it safe," Mira pointed out.

"What are you talking about Miss Miyake?" McGonagall said suspiciously.

"If I ride broom and nothing is wrong, then you give it back to Harry," the girl proposed.

For a moment, McGonagall seemed like she didn't know what to say, but of course, that didn't last.

"I'm afraid I can't agree to that Miss Miyake, it would be terribly irresponsible of me. For now, the best you can do is wait for the tests to be done and inform me or any other teacher if anything like this happens again," and clearly, the last part was still meant as a light scolding.

Mira frowned, but she had known the chances weren't that great of her proposal being accepted. Still, she had to try.

"Then, can I speak to the Headmaster?" she asked.

"If it is about the broom-" McGonagall began, looking exasperated.

"No, not that, it something else," Mira responded, waving the older woman's concerns away.

"It important," she insisted.

McGonagall frowned but nodded.

"Alright, come along then."

Mira followed after her, with a light wave and a small smile, although she could already tell there would be a very explosive argument between the young wizards. A part of her was glad that she wouldn't be around for it, however guilty that made her feel. Of course, a moment later it occurred to her that Ron and Hermione would probably be arguing about it for a while.

McGonagall took her to the Headmaster's office, sending her up on her own while she went to speak with Flitwick and Madam Hooch about Harry's Firebolt. She still felt a bit bad about not being able to do more to her him keep it, but maybe it was for the best. She didn't dwell on it for too long, as she was soon standing in Dumbledore's office, the old man smiling like always from behind his desk.

_"Ah, Miss Miyake, what brings you here on today of all days?" _he asked kindly, speaking her language, as always.

_"Black," _she answered simply, because she wanted to make this meeting quick.

The old wizard's expression fell a bit, too little to be very noticeable, but Mira picked up on it.

_"Please, take a seat," _he said, motioning to the chair before his desk.

Mira took the invitation and sat across from the old man, still mildly impressed by the trinkets around her.

_"So, what are your concerns? Or could it be you've found something?" _Dumbledore asked.

_"You could say that,__" _Mira said with a shrug. _"I'm curious, Headmaster, about why you didn't think it was important to mention Black's relation to Harry."_

And now she was _sure_ that something in his expression changed, but she couldn't tell what or how.

_"What have you learned?" _asked the Headmaster.

And Mira told him. She told him about Harry's parents, their friendship with Black, his betrayal and the fact that he was Harry's godfather, of all things. She didn't tell him _how _she had learned these things, and he didn't ask, oddly enough, but that was a good thing, and she wasn't going to bother pointing it out. At the end though, it was blatantly clear that she was unhappy about the lack of trust and the half-truths she had been given.

_"If I work for you, I need to know _everything_," _she told the Headmaster. _"I shouldn't have to find things out through obscure articles and gossip, especially when it's something so important. I was told Black was a criminal, that he was after Harry because he was a threat to Black's master. I was not aware that he had such a personal connection."_

_"Does that make any difference?"_ the old wizard asked. _"I hardly think it's that important. Whatever relation Sirius Black has to Harry is no longer important."_

Mira was exasperated, she couldn't understand how the Headmaster failed to see the importance of this information when it changed so much and raised so many questions. She wasn't going to bother explaining it, though.

_"If you want me to help I need the truth,"_ she said. _"If you can't give me the truth, then I'll find somewhere else to go."_

And Mira knew what the Headmaster was afraid of. He didn't want her to go for help to the wrong people, even if it was unlikely. It wasn't something that Dumbledore would risk doing, and Mira liked that she had that, however small an advantage it was, because she knew the Headmaster was figuring out just what she would and wouldn't do to go back home.

In the end, he agreed to be more forthcoming with information about anyone threatening Harry's life, but Mira didn't put much hope in the Headmaster keeping his word. He was the type of man that would hide things he didn't think others needed to know, and sometimes, that was okay with Mira. She knew a lot of people like that, after all. This time though, she couldn't let that happen, not when there was the possibility that she would need to figure out Black to find her friend.

As she had predicted, when she returned from her talk with Dumbledore, the friends were no longer on speaking terms. Even Harry, whom she had always thought was more levelheaded when it came to that sort of argument, was upset with Hermione. By this point. Mira didn't even bother to point out that the young witch was merely worried about her friend and was trying to help. She figured they'd work it out in the end.

Unfortunately, things weren't so simple.

For days, Harry and Ron refused to speak with Hermione, who would often go to the library to distract herself. Mira did her best to keep her company, but between finishing her own schoolwork, patrolling the castle and working on a way back to her own world, there wasn't much time she could spare. Then, one night, just before term started, her communicator went off.

She was just starting to doze off in front of the fireplace in the common room when the gadget began to beep loudly, nearly making her fall off the armchair she was occupying. It took her a moment to realize what was going on, and as soon as she did, she picked up the device and saw that there was a signal, a strong one, and it was close. Behind her, Harry, Ron and Hermione watched on curiously, and if they asked her anything, she didn't pay them any mind. Instead, she hurried to the portrait leading out. Before she could step out, she turned back and looked at the three, particularly Harry.

"Stay here," she said, and then she was gone.

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><p><strong>So, I was finally able to write this up, and again, sorry for the delay, but my comp. was being evil and refusing to work. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this and please review if you get the chance, as always, thanks to those who have reviewed andor added me to their lists.**


	15. Chapter 15: Hunters in the Snow

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or any elements belonging to the Harry Potter series. All Harry Potter related content is the sole property of J.K. Rowling. Any OCs and unfamiliar concepts are mine.

**I hope you enjoy this chapter, to those of you who enjoyed the previous one and thank you for coming back to read. Please, if you find the time, review and tell me what you think. To those who have added this story to their favorites/alerts, thank you.  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter<strong> **Fifteen: Hunters in the Snow  
><strong>

The grounds were covered with snow, about a foot of it littering the ground, maybe more considering the trouble Mira was having getting through it. Of course, she was already pretty winded from having run down seven floors just to get outside, and she was really starting to think that maybe the castle was a little _too _big. For now thought, she pushed her annoyances back and focused on following the signal with her communicator, still gripped tightly in her hand. Once she had gone a ways away from the castle, she stopped and looked back down at her communicator, making sure she was going the right way. And there it was, not very far ahead was a bright dot that represented the signal she was tracking.

For a moment, she looked around, trying to find any tracks, but there were none, at least none that were visible in the snow around her, and it was already dark. Frustrated, Mira decided to just keep pushing forward, ignoring the cold wind hitting her body and the freezing snow, making her legs go numb. Maybe, she thought, she should have taken the time to get her winter cloak on before leaving the castle, but it was too late for that now.

It was eerily quiet outside, with only the howling winds and the sound of shifting snow beneath her feet. Her breath came out sharply, forming white puffs every time she exhaled. In this manner, Mira walked on for a while longer, the only source of light being her communicator. Constant looks were sent to the device, just to make sure it was still working, and it was, up until she reached the Forbidden Forest. For an instant, she hesitated, knowing that the place was dangerous, and she had never had a very good sense of direction, but the signal had led her right to the forest. She stood there for a minute, wondering if she should go on, after all, she was cold, tired and couldn't see a thing. Unfortunately, she had forgotten her wand, maybe because she still didn't depend on it as much as the wizards, and her communicator had gone quiet, the signal having died. She was left with no light and no set course of travel, with no idea about where she should go.

Still, Mira refused to give up, she was too close now. Steeling herself for whatever might be lurking inside the dark forest, she stepped forward, intent on following the signal to wherever it might lead her, hoping that it would all be worth it.

The forest was eerily quiet, not a single branch stirring on the tall trees that stretched up impossibly high, shielding the forest floor from any snow. It was, perhaps, the only good thing about the forest, there was no snow for her to battle through, and for that she was slightly thankful. Still, it was cold and the air around her was forbidding, almost screaming at her to go back, and she began to seriously consider it, because it no longer seemed like a very good idea to go into the forest under her circumstances.

She stopped, and looked around once more, trying to make out anything. There was nothing for her to see, but the dark silhouettes of the trees around her. Not a noise was heard, even as she stood impossibly still, and with a frustrated sigh, she turned and began to make her way back to the castle, knowing she wouldn't find anything that night.

The walk back was long and cold and she was relieved when she finally made it back inside. Mira just knew she'd pay for her outing later, probably with a cold, but at the time, that was the least of her worries.

When she finally made it back to the Gryffindor Tower, Ron and Hermione seemed to be arguing(again), and she could guess about what. She was grateful that Hermione had kept the boys from following after her. All three young wizards stopped as the portrait swung open and Mira walked in, her legs from the knee down soaked from trudging through the snow and her cheeks and nose a bright red from the cold. She was still shivering a bit, but the castle was warm enough that she knew she just needed a change of clothes(and maybe a nap in front of the fire). Mira smiled faintly at the three.

"What happened?" Harry was quick to ask, just as Mira had expected.

She shook her head.

"Nothing, do not worry, okay?"

The others looked incredulous, and Mira tried to edge towards the staircase leading up to the girl's dormitory.

"Nothing? How is it nothing? You-it-" Ron spluttered for a moment, something Mira found amusing, and Hermione stepped in.

"What we mean to say is, why did you run out then?" the young witch spoke, glancing at the communicator still clutched in Mira's hand.

Sometimes, Mira hated the way Hermione never missed a single thing.

"Just thought something out there," she said with a shrug, intending to sound nonchalant.

"Was there?" Harry spoke again.

"No, this not working right, remember?"

And she could just see the doubt in Harry's eyes, because while he knew the gadget had been malfunctioning, he also knew that Mira wouldn't just take off like that unless she had a good reason to do so.

"It very cold outside," she said casually. "So I think I will go sleep now," and she began to make her way up the stairs even as she spoke.

"Good night," she called back when she could no longer see them.

The door closed behind her and she sighed tiredly, leaning against it. For a moment, she just stood there, listening to the voices of the three young wizards downstairs, most likely trying to figure out what she was up to. She could recognize Ron and Hermione, their voices growing a bit louder as they no doubt began to argue, remembering that they were mad at each other. After a while, she decided to change her clothes before she caught pneumonia and head to bed. Something told her she'd need her rest.

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><p>It was a bit of a relief when term began once more. The halls were filled with chattering students and their laughter, making the atmosphere lighter. For Harry, the best part about classes starting once more was the promise of learning to defend himself against Dementors. After all, Professor Lupin had said he would teach him once the new term started. The young wizard hoped it worked, since Wood had already told him he needed to know Harry wouldn't pass out during a game if a Dementor showed up. Harry really didn't want to be replaced.<p>

So, on the evening of his first lesson, Harry left the common room and headed to the History of Magic classroom, where Professor Lupin awaited. It had been interesting, Harry though, and exhausting, but the lesson had been good, and if he managed to make a proper Patronus, then he wouldn't have to worry about Dementors again. Unfortunately, there was a part of himself, a tiny part, that didn't want to be able to form a Patronus. Because that would mean never hearing his parents again.

But then, did he really want to hear his mother plead for his life? Did he want to listen to his father telling his mother to run, to take Harry and run while he stayed, knowing he would die? No, he didn't but it was the first time he heard their voices, and it was nice to have a voice to go with his recently acquired images of them. It was just a shame that their voices were tinged with fear and sadness. Harry reminded himself that they were dead, and that they wouldn't be returning, and for the time being, that was enough.

Luckily, Harry didn't have much time to think about why his Patronus failed, not with his busy schedule. His classes were rather demanding, and he had only one night to do his homework, what with all the Quidditch practice and Patronus lessons. It was exhausting, but it was even more tiring to just _watch _Hermione work. Every night, she would sit at a table with piles of books and notes and essays, doing her best to manage the immense workload she was given in all of her classes. During this time,s he was rather short with people, and Harry thought it didn't help that neither him nor Ron were speaking to her. Mira seemed to be the only one who bothered to try and converse with Hermione, and in exchange, Hermione tried to be a bit more patient with her. It was good too, since Mira seemed to have gotten rather good at Runes - her only good subject really - and would always try her best to help Hermione with at least that class.

Sometimes, Harry would feel bad about not speaking to Hermione, but then something would come up and would divert his attention. For example, his lessons with Professor Lupin were taking up most of his time, because even when he wasn't in one, he would be thinking of hos to improve, or of why he failed. It had been about a month already, maybe even a bit more, and he was still unable to produce more than a weak was frustrating. Even Quidditch practice reminded him of his weak Patronus, because he knew he needed to get the spell right if he wanted to avoid another incident like in his last match.

Harry thought about this as he walked back to the Gryffindor Tower after another long practice session with the team. He walked through the portrait, and wanted to laugh when he saw Mira laying across an armchair, asleep with a melting Chocolate Frog in her hand. Trying not to laugh too loudly, Harry went over to the sleeping girl and shook her shoulder.

She awoke as she always did, bleary-eyed and blinking furiously, with a confused expression. Of course that quickly changed to a look of dismay when she noticed the chocolate frog in her hand. She sat up, and with a sigh, wiped her hand with a spare bit of parchment.

"How did practice go?" she asked through a yawn.

Though usually, Mira would go to the practices with Harry and either sit in the stands of hide in some shadowed corner, she had been taking some time off. Harry suspected she was starting to see how useless it was to keep such a close eye on Harry while he was with other within the school's boundaries. Still, Mira denied it, saying that she was just trying to keep up with her work, and that it would look odd if she was always around - one of the reasons why she would sometimes hide.

Harry sat on an armchair across from Mira's, realizing how tired he was. Practice took a lot out of him, but still not nearly as much as his lessons with Professor Lupin.

"It was fine, you know how Wood's been lately," and by that Harry meant something along the lines of; 'you know Wood's insane and obsessed with winning the cup'.

The girl just nodded with a smile, still looking tired, but obviously knowing what Harry was talking about.

"Why were you sleeping down here?" Harry asked. "And where are Ron and Hermione?" he looked around at the students who were still up, but his friends weren't around.

A lot of the students had gone to bed, tired from their lessons, but there were still plenty of people milling about. Mira shrugged and began putting the books and parchment on the table between them, back into her bag.

"They went to bed," she told Harry. "Hermione look tired so I tell her to rest, Ron bored, I think. He still mad at Hermione, so he went up early."

Harry nodded, wondering how long it would be until they were all on good terms again. When he really thought about it, it seemed silly to argue over a broom.

"You are still mad about broom?" she asked, more curious than anything else.

"No, I don't think I am," Harry admitted. "At least, not the way Ron is."

Mira sat back in her chair, looking at Harry carefully.

"You know, Hermione only worry. That is why she tell McGonagall," she pointed out.

Harry knew that, he knew Hermione didn't mean anything bad by telling about the Firebolt, but at the moment, he had been upset enough to go along with Ron and stop talking to her. Now though, he kinda felt bad about it, because Hermione was just trying to look out for him.

"I know," Harry said, and then noticed that device Mira had been trying to fix sticking out of her bag. "You're still working on that?" he asked, because really it seemed like a lost cause.

Mira seemed to think so too because she sighed and nodded.

"Yes, but it still not work right," she shrugged. "It okay, not really need it to go home. I need runes and information," she admitted.

"So why did you want to fix it?" Harry asked, curious to know why she tried so hard.

Mira looked around at the students still up, and then back at Harry when she made sure no one was listening.

"To find friend," she responded simply.

Harry knew she meant the person she claimed to have worked with back in her world. He wondered how close they were that she would try so hard to find someone who didn't seem to want to be found, but then he supposed he'd do the same if it was Ron or Hermione missing and he was the one in Mira's place.

"What is he like?" he asked after a while.

Mira thought about it for a moment, clearly trying to find the right words.

"Hmm, he is very mean, and rude, I think," she said after a couple of minutes. "He is not patient, and he say what he thinks. He call people stupid and is annoying very often, and he never listen and is always stubborn," she finished, and Harry just stared because really, why would she _want _to find someone like that.

Clearly, she noticed this, and smiled knowingly.

"He is not mean just because, Harry," she began with an amused tone.

"It is because it is dangerous, what we do, so he is, uh, very honest, and say when someone mess up. That is why he is rude and stubborn, but he never give up, and can be good. He is very strong and I trust him, but he annoy me a lot," she finished with a grin. "He is smart, so maybe he can help find a way home."

Harry nodded, understanding, in a way, why she would depend on someone who sounded so - and Harry couldn't think of another word to describe this person - unpleasant.

They had both headed to bed not long after, and Harry didn't have much time to think more about Quidditch or Patronus lessons, or anything else before he fell asleep.

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><p><strong>Hello everyone, and thank you for reading yet another chapter. I hope it was to your liking and I hope you continue to follow this. Anyways, pardon the wait, but as always, life has been busy. Please review if you get the chance, and to all those who have reviewed andor added me to their lists, thank you.**


	16. Chapter 16: Midnight Messenger

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or any elements belonging to the Harry Potter series. All Harry Potter related content is the sole property of J.K. Rowling. Any OCs and unfamiliar concepts are mine.

**I hope you enjoy this chapter, to those of you who enjoyed the previous one and thank you for coming back to read. Please, if you find the time, review and tell me what you think. To those who have added this story to their favorites/alerts, thank you.  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Sixteen: Midnight Messenger<br>**

It seemed that things were finally improving, Harry thought. As he was heading back from another lesson on warding off Dementors, he ran into Professor McGonagall. More importantly, she was carrying his Firebolt. A moment later, and after the Professor had told him to try to win the next match, he was walking back to the Common Room with Ron, whom he had met along the way. The two boys were ecstatic now that they had the broom back, and they had no doubt that the rest of the Gryffindors would be as well. With a Firebolt, their chances of winning the next Quidditch match went up by heaps.

But, even during such a great moment, Harry remembered Hermione, whom he hadn't spoken to since the Firebolt had been taken away by McGonagall. It wasn't fair he thought, to stay mad at Hermione, not when she had only been trying to keep Harry safe. And so, he told Ron that they should forget about what had happened and make-up with Hermione. Perhaps because of the good mood he was in, Ron readily agreed, but Harry liked to think that it was because he missed their friend as well.

Outside the tower, they were met with the sight of Neville Longbottom, pleading with Sir Cadogan to let him enter. Apparently, Neville had forgotten the password, which wasn't uncommon at all. Although he had taken the precaution of getting the passwords the portrait would use for the rest of the week, Neville misplaced them, as was usual for the unlucky young wizard. It was fortunate that Harry and Ron had found him and let him in.

As Harry had expected, the moment the other Gryffindors saw the broomstick, they began to murmur and surround him praising the broom and asking all sort of things about it(and whether they would ride it). They admired it, and tried to touch it, passing it around and looking at it in wonder. It was a while after that he was finally able to reach Hermione, who sat at a table piled high with books, parchment and quills. Harry struck up a conversation about with his friend while Ron went to the dormitory with the Firebolt - and to give Scabbers his rat tonic. There was, from what Harry could see, an insurmountable amount of work around Hermione, and somehow, she was managing to get it done. But even for Hermione, the task was a daunting one, and Harry could see how exhausted she was.

"How do you manage all this work?" he asked, genuinely curious.

At the moment, Hermione was working on some rune translation. To Harry, it looked completely foreign - and he found it ironic that it was the one subject Mira wasn't a complete failure at. Now that he recalled, Mira usually helped Hermione with runes, seeing as it was the only thing she could help the young witch with. She had said it was in exchange for Hermione helping her with all the other subjects. This time, however, the other girl was nowhere to be seen. It was odd, considering she was always around at that time working and making sure Harry got back to Gryffindor Tower.

"And where's Mira, I thought you always worked together when it was runes homework."

Hermione looked up from her work and glanced around, her brow furrowing as she found no trace of the other girl.

"Now that you mention it, I haven't seen her for a while," Hermione said, thoughtfully. "She's probably just busy," she added, waving away any concerns. "Lately there's been so much going on, and you know she has her own work to do."

Clearly, Hermione meant she could be working on getting back home, and Harry knew that was very likely. With all the school work and making sure Harry wasn't just offed in his sleep, Mira hardly had any time to work out her own problems.

"It would be nice to have her around right about now," Hermione muttered. "She's very good at this."

And just like that, she was once more entranced by her work. Harry just couldn't figure out how she could spend so much time writing essays and translating runes.

"Why don't you drop a few subjects?" he finally asked her.

Immediately, Hermione pretested.

"I couldn't do that!" she exclaimed.

"Arithmancy looks terrible," Harry said, looking at a number chart that he knew he would probably never be able to understand.

Sometimes, Harry just couldn't comprehend how Hermione could like that type of work so much.

"Oh no, it's wonderful," Hermione defended. "It's my favorite subject! It's-"

But at that very moment, a yell was heard from the boy's dormitory, and Harry could just tell something bad was coming.

* * *

><p>Harry had been right, things had become terrible since the night he had gotten back his Firebolt.<p>

Ron and Hermione were mad at each other. Again. This time it was worse than before, and Harry thought it could very well be the end of their friendship. They both blamed each other for the apparent death of Scabbers. Ron said Hermione's cat, Crookshanks had eating the rat, and Hermione insisted that there was no proof. When Harry tried to point out that it was very likely the cat had eaten the rat, Hermione had turned her anger on him and, once again, Hermione was not speaking to neither of the boys.

For his part, Ron was devastated by the loss of his pet, never mind that he always complained about the lazy rat who seemed to be good for nothing but eating. Anything anyone tried to tell him to make him feel better had little to no effect. The only thing Harry could think of was taking him along to the last practice for the Quidditch team before their match against Ravenclaw. It worked, to some extent, especially after Harry let his friend ride his Firebolt, and it was only as they went back to the castle that he was reminded of his rat when they found Crookshanks skulking around.

They arrived back in the tower, and Harry noticed that Mira wasn't around. In fact, she hadn't been around for a few days, and he couldn't think of why she would be missing for so long. He couldn't ask Hermione, she wasn't speaking to him, after all, but Harry didn't think there was to big a reason to worry. Mira could have very well managed to go back home, but if that was the case, Harry wished someone had told them about it. The teachers - the ones who knew the truth about Mira - didn't seem very concerned by her disappearance so Harry didn't concern himself too much with thinking about it. She would show up again if she was still around, after all. In the end, however, he decided to ask McGonagall about it.

"I thought you already knew, Potter. Miss Miyake is in the hospital wing," the Professor had informed him, looking genuinely surprised.

For his part, Harry was surprised as well.

"The hospital wing? Why?" he asked the old witch.

"You'd have to ask her ourself, Potter. I haven't been informed on what happened only that she is fine and that I should expect her back in class soon."

Harry didn't bother asking anything else after that. He told Ron about what the Professor had told him, and they both decided to see if they could visit Mira in the hospital wing. They both wondered what could have happened to send her there for so long. After all, Madam Pomfrey was usually quick to heal any student that needed her skills. She had regrown the bones on Harry's arm just the year before, and Harry had a hard time thinking of anything she couldn't heal after that.

Classes ended and both boys walked to the hospital wing, where they were met by Madam Pomfrey, who told them they weren't allowed to visit. Mira needed her rest, she claimed, but Harry suspected she just didn't want them to see whatever it was that was wrong with Mira. Perhaps she didn't know the boys were aware of who the girl really was, Harry thought. Just as they were about to argue, one of the curtains drawn around a bed at the back was drawn open enough for the occupant's head to appear from behind it.

"Is fine, Madam Pomfrey, they know," she said in her usual accent, not looking very sick at all.

The nurse huffed, clearly displeased as she always was when someone disagreed with her, but allowed the boys to talk to Mira.

"Just for a few minutes," she reminded.

It was a phrase Harry was all too familiar with. The older witch went about her business, and Harry and Ron approached their friend, who waited patiently on her bed.

"Hello, Harry, Ron," she greeted, a book resting on her lap.

The boys returned her greeting, Harry looking at the stack of books and parchment on the side table with a raised brow. Clearly, Mira had kept herself busy, even while resting in the hospital wing.

"How come you're in here?" Ron asked, always one for a direct approach.

In response, Mira raised her arm, previously hidden beneath the large tome on her lap and the bedsheets. It was heavily bandaged, starting from the fingers and going all the way up a bit past her elbow.

"Had accident," she said, not seeming bothered in the least.

"What happened?" Harry asked, curious.

For once, Mira looked sheepish as she thought of how to explain.

"Hmm, hard to say," she began. "I worked on runes, but I make mistake and, well, this happen," she finished lamely, waving her good hand to show her bandaged arm.

Harry and Ron just looked at her, not too surprised at how simple her explanation was. They had learned, after months of being around Mira, that even though she could explain things, she probably wouldn't. So far, they hadn't been able to figure out if it was because she didn't think they should know, or just because she hated explaining things. Harry was betting on the latter.

"Er, and what exactly happened?" Harry ventured to ask, wondering if he'd really get a straight answer. "It must be bad if it's taking so long to heal."

Mira leaned back to look around the curtain, presumably checking to see if Madam Pomfrey was around. When the nurse did not appear, she started unwrapping the bandages to show her friends her injury. As soon as the bandages came off and Harry and Ron could see what was wrong, they understood why the girl had been staying in the hospital wing for so long. The skin was red in some places, like a bad sunburn that was still healing, most of it on her forearm, fading as it moved up to her elbow. There were a few spots scabbed over and overall, looking like it had been very painful. Harry winced inwardly, while Ron just outright cringed.

"Not so bad," Mira said at the looks on the boys' faces. "I think it heal well."

"Not so bad?! It looks like-" Ron began, spluttering in a voice too loud.

Harry elbowed him and Ron shut up. Mira gave him an amused look while re-wrapping the bandages.

"Doesn't hurt," Mira clarified for her friends. "Pomfrey say I should stay anyway."

Clearly, she wasn't too happy about that, but there was little any one could do against Madam Pomfrey. She was truly a force to be reckoned with, when it came to treating a patient.

"Well it's pretty bad if Madam Pomfrey hasn't healed it," Ron pointed out, not speaking at a lower volume.

He had a point, Harry admitted. It had been days since Mira had disappeared.

"Well, I use runes and other symbols, you know, from back home," she explained. "She say magic not work too well because it, um, foreign. She can't tell why, but nothing work on it."

"What were you doing?" Harry asked, brow raised, because that sounded like she was messing with thing she shouldn't have. Not that he could say anything, not after his last few years at Hogwarts.

"I work on runes, tried to find road home, kind of," she shrugged.

She reached over to the bedside table and grabbed a book, much smaller than the one on her lap. Inside it, was a folded piece of parchment, which she opened and showed to the boys.

Harry couldn't really understand what was written, seeing as he had never taken any classes on runes, but it looked rather complicated. There was, on the upper half, a messy chart that wove around words and contained a couple of circled phrases with arrows pointing to odd symbols and notes scribbled all over the page in both English and what Harry now recognized as Japanese. On the bottom half of the page was a large sort of drawing.

It was a diagram, Harry realized, made up of three circles, each contained inside a larger one. All three were made of four sections with four arrows placed in between each of the two open sections between the circles. Along with the arrows were runes and other symbols, drawn carefully and evenly spaced. On the outside of the circles were more symbols, randomly spaced and looking very complicated. In the middle of it all, was a diamond shape, with its four points stretching out, past the rest of the diagram with a different symbol drawn on each point. And at the very center was a rune that sort of looked like and "R" to Harry. It was a complicated work, Harry could see, not that he understood any of it.

"Something is not right with that, so this happen," Mira said.

"So what, you actually tried this out and it backfired or something?" Ron asked, now looking at the parchment Mira had shown them. His brow was furrowed, as he was clearly not able to understand any of what was written. Of course, it didn't help that only a small part of it was in English.

Mira nodded, probably glad she had managed to explain things well enough for her friends to understand.

"I'll fix it," she assured the two young wizards. "Next time it will work."

"Next time! You're going to try that again?" and it sounded like Ron couldn't see why someone would do such a thing. Harry had to agree, because Mira's arm looked really bad.

"Sure, only way to get home," she said lightly, with a nod. "Hermione helping, she brought me books."

Well, that answered the question of how the bedside table managed to look like Hermione's workspace back in the Common Room.

"I hear you are mad with Hermione again."

And if Harry wasn't mistaken, that was disapproval in Mira's voice.

"Her stupid cat ate Scabbers!" Ron said, still very much upset about the loss of his rat.

Mira looked at him, unimpressed.

"What is more important, rat or friend?" she asked plainly, and Harry admitted, it was a good point.

Ron spluttered for a moment before falling quiet, though he looked a lot less pleased.

They didn't stay long afterwards, especially after Madam Pomfrey returned with a jar of burn salve, insisting that her patient needed her rest. Both boys knew not to argue, and so Mira wished Harry luck with his match against Ravenclaw and told him she'd be back in class soon before watching them leave.

As it turned out, luck was definitely with Harry the day of the match, as he had been able to catch the snitch, produce a patronus _and_ make a fool out of Malfoy and his cronies. Mira had laughed when she heard about it from Hermione, who managed to visit for a few minutes even as she struggled with her school work. Of course, Mira helped her as much as she could with the work from runes while she was there, so it was a good thing for the both of them that Hermione visited.

Mira wished she had been able to go to the game, even if she wasn't very fond of Quidditch, it would have been a fun match. At the very least, she thought, she was able to get some rest that day, having decided to take a break from her work with runes. It wasn't like she was getting anywhere with them anyway. For the most part, she read, mostly recreational books to better understand the world she was currently staying in. She also got a healthy amount of sleep, though it was disturbed late into the night when someone woke her up. She could hear Madam Pomfrey muttering about patients needing their rest not far off. It was Professor Lupin who was there to wake Mira with the some rather unexpected news.

Hogwarts had been broken into once more, and this time, Sirius Black had made it into the Gryffindor boy's dormitory.

Mira was up in an instant, agreeing to help search the castle. She didn't bother changing out of her bedclothes, as the pants and shirt allowed her better mobility than her uniform at least, so she grabbed a cloak and set off to check the grounds. She was up all night, searching every corner of the castle and its grounds, but found nothing, and returned to the hospital wing shortly before sunrise, frustrated and puzzled, but she still managed to get a couple more hours of sleep before she got dressed and went back to Gryffindor Tower to rejoin the other students. It had been decided that, with the latest break in, it would be better for Mira to return to the Tower. Of course, she would also get back to patrolling the castle on a nightly basis while the teachers took their own precautions.

Harry and Ron were a bit surprised to see her back in class so soon, but it looked like Harry at least, suspected why that was. Ron was too busy at the moment relishing in all the attention he was getting. Most of his free time was spent retelling the story of how he was nearly killed by Black, and he seemed rather happy to do so. During these times, Harry chose to question Mira on what had happened that night, at least, on her end of things.

"Nothing," she said with a shrug.

"He got away, everyone searched, but he was gone."

And that was all there was to it, because Black had simply vanished and no one could come up with a way for it to happen. Mira had checked all the secret passages, even the one Harry had used to get to Hogsmeade, going so far as to dedicate a whole night to going there and searching for clues. There were none, and Harry seemed relieved to hear that there were no signs of Black having used that path to get in. All the other passages were blocked, the doors and windows locked, the portraits warned and the teachers were on alert. They even had security trolls, which Mira found rather unpleasant, but then it was a weird world.

Just as an extra precaution, Neville was barred from knowing the password to the tower, something that Mira was told was his punishment for losing the list of passwords he had made. Apparently, that was how Black had gotten in and, while Mira felt bad for the boy, she thought he could learn to be more careful. All in all, the castle was swarmed with rumors of how Black had gotten in and even Harry had been wondering what had happened that night.

"Why would he run?" Ron had asked one evening.

"Maybe it was because you yelled and woke up everyone, it would have been hard for him to get out after that," Harry said, but he looked like he had been wondering the same thing.

Mira thought it was all very strange because Black seemed to be very smart, especially if he had managed to get into the castle, so how could he have gotten the wrong bed? And why _did _he run? The man had nothing to lose, he could have easily killed Harry to avenge his so-called master. From what she had heard the people serving Voldemort were generally insane so she didn't think being caught would be such a big deal, not after having gotten rid of Harry. She asked Hermione about this too, but even the smartest witch she knew couldn't come up with an answer. In the end, Mira decided to just leave it for later and focused instead on patrolling the castle.

In hindsight, she supposed she had actually neglected to guard Harry while trying to make the castle safer for him and the other students. Of course, this only came to light when Professor Lupin told her that Harry had nearly been caught sneaking back into the castle after having gone to Hogsmeade. Mira hadn't bothered lying when Lupin had asked her if she had known Harry had been sneaking into Hogsmeade, but she had made it clear that she had expressed her concerns over this and Harry had only done it once before without her knowledge.

"You realize Black could have used that very passageway to get into the castle," Lupin said, and Mira thought they were finally getting to the real reason he was so upset, because Black could have killed Harry if he had wanted to that night he had broken in, and this worried the teacher.

"It is possible, but unlikely. I checked passage, it is not used by Black," she informed the teacher.

She knew it was risky to keep the secret passage open but did not think it was necessary to close it as it had not been used by Black. Lupin didn't agree, but he wouldn't inform Dumbledore as long as Mira kept a closer eye on Harry, he had said.

"I do what I can," she said. "But I must guard castle as well."

Lupin hadn't looked very pleased at that, and Mira understood he cared about Harry very much, but she was doing all she could with the limited information she was given. And besides, Harry was not an easy person to look after.

* * *

><p>"Mira?"<p>

It was late at night, and everyone was asleep in the Gryffindor Tower, or at least, almost everyone.

"Oh, uh, hi Harry," Mira said, stopping at the foot of the stairs leading to the dormitory.

Harry's brow rose as he looked at her, and it was probably because it was late and by all rights, Mira should have been asleep. Harry knew better than to expect her to sleep though.

"Going out on patrol?" he asked, and received a nod from Mira.

"Yes, still dangerous," she sighed.

"What's with the cloak?" he asked, referring to the black cloak Mira was wearing, she had been in the process of pulling up the hood when Harry had seen her from his seat by the fire.

"Oh, many teachers still don't know I guard you, so this help," she said simply. "It easier to hide too."

Harry nodded at Mira's grin, because obviously she appreciated the added stealth the cloak offered.

"You should sleep," she said, walking to the portrait.

"So should you," Harry answered dryly and Mira laughed a bit.

"Maybe later," she answered, and they both knew she meant she would nap during Professor Binn's class, not that she would be the only one doing so.

"See you later," Mira said, raising her hood, and Harry had to admit, it worked rather well to hide her face.

"Right," the young wizard answered and a moment later, Mira was gone.

He didn't stay up for much longer, because thinking about all the things Lupin had said the night he had caught him sneaking back from Hogsmeade wasn't a pleasant way to spend the night. Besides, he still had class the next day.

For her part, Mira rather enjoyed her patrols, even if they were a tad boring. It was nice, to have some time to herself, especially now that she had gotten used to the castle. Apart from that, it was a good way to make sure her stealth skills were still up to par, not that she had ever been very good at being stealthy. It was still enough to hide from any teachers she ran into while patrolling, because she didn't want to deal with any questions they would ask. Even though they were aware of the extra guard, they were rather curious.

They usually patrolled the halls, though, so Mira just had to stay on the grounds outside to avoid them, and she still suspected Black got in from somewhere on the grounds so a healthy part of her time was spent outside. It was while she was walking around the grounds that she heard a rustling from somewhere nearby, with her wand ready - something that was rather useless as she wasn't good with magic - she turned to see what it was that made the noise. After a moment, she could make out a shadowed figure making its way towards her, and as it got closer, she saw that it was rather small. Still, she was wary, but didn't light her wand in case she actually hadn't been seen, however unlikely that was. Whatever it was that was skulking around, grew closer and closer until Mira could make out what she was looking at.

"Crookshanks?" she said, brow arched and disbelief clear in her voice, because, _really_?

With a sigh, she knelt as the cat walked up to her.

_"What are you doing here?"_ Mira asked in her own language, and she made a mental note to tell Hermione to keep a closer eye on her cat.

Who knew what else was walking around at night.

Just as she was thinking this, she noticed the cat had something in it's mouth, something small and white. A piece of paper it seemed, and Mira blinked in surprise when the cat dropped it in front of her.

_"I thought owls delivered the mail around here," _she said dryly, but took the piece of paper and opened it, frowning a bit at the idea of someone using Hermione's cat to deliver a note.

Mira examined the paper which looked like a spare piece of parchment, with folds that looked a bit old. After a moment of looking at it, she noticed there was writing in both sides. On one were some nonsense words, and she thought it all sounded like something only a wizard would come up with, some of them were cut off, as the parchment had been ripped. On the other side, was a note, and Mira could only stare as she recognized the writing because she hadn't seen it in a very long while.

Quickly, she read it through, her hands shaking a bit and her mind struggling to process the words hastily written.

_I'll be in the forest tomorrow night._

_-K.S.  
><em>

_P.S. leave the kids in the tower  
><em>

And really, there was only one person with those initials who would send her a note in the whole world.

Just like there was only one person who would write said note in Japanese.

She looked around, trying to find any sign of the sender, but she knew there would be none. Instead, she turned back to the piece of parchment, looking at it as if it help any answers and after a while, she realized it did. Because the writing on the back wasn't just nonsense words.

They were the passwords to Gryffindor Tower, the ones that Neville had lost. The very list that Black had supposedly used to get into the common room and than meant only one thing. She had been right in assuming her partner and Black were working together, and hopefully, she would find out why the next night. With a last look around, she stood and began to head back to the castle with Crookshanks following after her.

* * *

><p><strong>Oh my God, this too so long to write! Sorry about the wait, but life has been hectic lately. At least this chapter turned out to be pretty long and it was rather fun to write. Anyways, I hope you've enjoyed it and please review if you get the chance, I'd love to get some comments.<strong>

**To those of you who have reviewed or added me to their list I thank you very much!  
><strong>


	17. Chapter 17: The Forest Beckons

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or any elements belonging to the Harry Potter series. All Harry Potter related content is the sole property of J.K. Rowling. Any OCs and unfamiliar concepts are mine.

**I hope you enjoy this chapter, to those of you who enjoyed the previous one and thank you for coming back to read. Please, if you find the time, review and tell me what you think. To those who have added this story to their favorites/alerts, thank you.  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Seventeen: The Forest Beckons<br>**

Mira never did find out why her friend wanted to meet her in the Forbidden Forest.

Security measures had been increased around the castle, so it had been rather difficult to separate herself from Harry, Ron and Hermione, who had finally made peace with each other. When she did manage it, it was only for a few minutes, as she ran into Snape near the doors leading to the grounds.

"Miss Miyake," came the slow drawling voice of the teacher.

Mira turned to Snape, glad that her cloak hid her face. She didn't think Snape would appreciate her glare.

"Good evening, Professor," she said, with a little less trouble pronouncing things than before.

"And what business do you have on the grounds so late at night?" Snape asked, not wasting time on pleasantries.

"I check outside, make sure it is safe," she explained calmly.

She did, after all, intend to do that. Snape, however had other ideas.

"I would think, Miss Miyake, that you would be of more use in your Common Room, near Potter," the professor pointed out.

"Black get in from somewhere outside, I make sure he stay out," Mira countered.

"Well, as good as that may sound, I'm afraid it hasn't worked too well, has it now?"

Mira didn't bother to point out that, when Black had last gotten into the castle, she had been in the hospital wing. She knew Snape didn't trust her, and not just because he didn't like her(he didn't _like _anyone). It was because he knew nothing about her, not where she came from, or what her purpose was and Snape didn't like not knowing things.

_'Probably thinks I'm working with Black,' _she thought idly.

And that would explain why he didn't want her outside. She debated whether to go back to Gryffindor Tower, or ignore Snape and head outside anyway. From the note she had received it didn't sound like the meeting was urgent, or it would have said so in _some _way. At least, she told herself, she now knew that her friend was around, and that he was probably with Black, she just needed to know why, but that could wait, because her friend wouldn't help someone who would hurt innocent kids.

In the end, she walked past Snape and towards the staircase leading to the tower. It wouldn't be good to make the professor even more distrustful of her, and her partner could wait a while longer, because she realized that Snape would be keeping an eye on her for a while and it wouldn't be wise to try to meet again anytime soon.

"Just so you know," Snape spoke up before Mira could leave.

"Not all of us are as trusting as the Headmaster."

The girl quirked an eyebrow because, wasn't that obvious? She wasn't insulted or worried about that comment, because she had expected as much. Even McGonagall was weary of her, though considerably less than Snape and it was only fair that the teachers would feel that way. After all, their world wasn't so peaceful at the moment, and the tension that Black's escape brought would only breed more suspicion and weariness.

As she had suspected, Snape had been keeping an irritatingly close eye on her, making it impossible for her to be out on the grounds without a valid excuse. It was a real shame, she thought, but at least she had been able to send a note back to her friend with Crookshanks. It was a short note, telling him she couldn't meet him because of Snape and not to send more notes, just in case. Mira couldn't really be sure that Crookshanks would take the note to him, but the cat seemed smart enough and took the folded piece of paper willingly before skulking away.

There were no more notes from her friend since then, so she supposed the cat must have done it's job after all. Of course, that didn't mean she didn't think about the one other person from her world that was nearby.

Harry had noticed that Mira seemed to have something on her mind, but hadn't mentioned it. He assumed she was just thinking about her home or maybe a way to get back. It had been nearly a year, after all, since she had arrived. The young wizard didn't want to think about what it would be like to be away from his friends for that long, and especially without knowing if it was possible to get back to them. Still, he didn't think it was anything to worry about, so he didn't put much more thought into it. It was close to the time their exams would take place, so it wasn't too hard to put those thoughts out of mind.

Then of course, there was Divination, which was a distraction all on its own. This was especially true when they began to work with crystal balls. It wasn't too much of a surprise that the Grim would once again make an appearance, especially when said appearance was in Harry's crystal ball. What _was _a bit of a shock, was the way that Hermione had just _walked out _of class. Hermione, who had to be the most eager student and most respectful of anything that had to do with learning, had walked out of class. Of course, having someone call her mind "hopelessly mundane" might have been a bit much, and she had never been a real believer in Divination. Harry couldn't really blame her, not when Trelawney was the only "seer" they had met.

And of course, there was Quidditch.

Oliver was driving Harry insane with his constant "advise" and it wasn't too much of a surprise when Harry finally snapped and yelled at him, because he already knew not to catch the snitch unless they were more than fifty points up. Wood told him at least ten times a day, after all.

The whole of Gryffindor was obsessed with Quidditch. With the exception of Hermione, who had never been much of a fan but went mostly because of Harry, and Mira, who still thought the game dangerous and silly and something only a wizard would come up with. They were both still hoping Gryffindor would win, of course, but they weren't about to get into any shouting matches about it.

The same could not be said for the other students, many of which were hurling jinxes at each other in the halls. This was especially true when it came to the students of Slytherin, who were trying very hard to, at the very least, trip Harry as he walked to class. Wood's idea of having someone accompany Harry to his classes wasn't much help, as the large group of Gryffindors surrounding Harry was more prone to make him late to class, but the concern was appreciated. Mira seemed to find it amusing, and was somewhat interested in the importance that was put on Quidditch. Apparently, she had never known much about sports, and neither had her friends.

"Too much work to do," she told Harry, when asked.

"We train from very young age and have little free time. Sports is not very important to us."

Ron had been speechless at hearing this, because he knew even muggles were very much into their own sports. He just couldn't fathom anyone not knowing anything about any sort of sports. Hermione found it interesting, and slightly disturbing, how little exposure Mira seemed to have to everyday things, or rather, how little importance she put into it. Because she knew enough, she just didn't seem to care.

On the other hand, Harry could relate, because even though he had grown up as a muggle, he still didn't know much about movies or television or any other type of pop culture. It seemed like Mira had been in a similar position, though perhaps she hadn't been as miserable as he had been with the Dursley's. At the very least, it sounded like she had been in a place where she had friends.

"Weren't there things you wanted to do, though?" asked Hermione. "Anything that interested you? Did you have any hobbies?" because apparently, she didn't want to believe that all Mira ever did was work.

"I guess, yes," Mira responded, and seemed to be thinking about it for a moment. "I like music," she admitted.

"You mean listening to music?" Hermione suggested.

"Sure," she said, and then turned the subject back to Quidditch, something Ron was only too happy about.

On the night before the match, Harry was relieved to get to bed, if only because he had been feeling nervous all night and sleep seemed like the perfect way to get away from that. Unfortunately, even in his dreams, he couldn't help but be troubled by the match he'd be playing the next day. He awoke in the middle of the night after a terrible nightmare about Quidditch, and after calming himself, stood to get a glass of water, glancing up at the school grounds through the window. And then he paused, staring as something seemed to run across the wide lawn, after a moment of panic in which he thought he'd seen the Grim, Harry moved to search for his glasses, so he could get a better glimpse of whatever was out there.

At the same time, Mira was strolling out along the castle's walls, doing her usual final rounds outside. She'd had to be careful not to be seen by Snape, as the man would make her stay indoors. Mira needed to check the grounds though, she knew all too well that Black could be prowling around, and while she trusted her partner's judgment, she couldn't say the she trusted that Black meant no harm. At least not until she got a good explanation. On that particular night, she was glad she was out there, as she saw something run past up ahead. It was the only moving object around, so it wasn't hard to spot and it only took her a moment to identify it as Crookshanks.

Just as she was about to turn and head back inside to get some sleep, she saw another figure approach the cat, this one much larger. The cat had stopped and the larger figure had stepped out of the line of trees and to the lawn, walking closer to Crookshanks as she watched. Even through the darkness and though she was far from them, Mira could tell what it was that had emerged from the forest. It was a black dog, large and with shaggy dark fur and Mira's mind immediately went to the Grim that she had learned about just months earlier. Whatever this dog was, though, she would have to find out, especially if it was prowling around the forest.

Moving as quietly as she could, she made her way closer to the two animals, wishing there was some kind of cover for her to use. As it was, she was forced to use some of her abilities to hide. Still, the dog's head snapped up and looked straight at where she stood, staring for a moment before breaking into a run to the forest. Not wasting time, Mira followed, ducking into the forest not far behind the dog. She jumped over fallen branches and thick roots. The dog in front of her was faster though, even with how long they had both been running, and the distance between them grew greater until she could barely see it in the dark. Not long after, it had vanished, it's dark fur hiding him amongst the shadows and Mira considered searching for a while longer, but she doubted she would catch it.

The forest wasn't a place she was comfortable in and she would already have enough trouble finding her way out of it, after all, she'd never gone in without Hagrid to show her the way. Now she was alone in a thick part of the forest, at night and with no idea about what could be lurking in the shadows. As confident as she was that she would be fine even if she ran into one of the forest's creatures, she didn't want to push her luck. And so, she began the long walk back out the forest and to the castle, hoping she would make it before the sun rose.

* * *

><p>As it turned out, Mira just barely made it back before sunrise and she didn't bother changing out of her clothes before letting herself fall onto her bed. All she could manage to do was remove her cloak and put it away, before burrowing beneath the covers and falling asleep almost instantly. She was awoken just a couple of hours later by Hermione, who reminded her that the big Quidditch match was that day, and of course, she couldn't miss it. Harry would be playing, and where Harry went, Mira was obliged to follow. Normally, she wouldn't mind all that much, even though she wasn't too fond of the sport, but she was tired, sleepy and incredibly frustrated. Not to mention, she had a horrible headache that made her head feel like it was splitting in half.<p>

Seeing this, Hermione left her to sleep for a while longer, telling her she'd be back to get her before the game. True to her word, Hermione showed up about an hour later with a small stack of toast and Mira only too glad to have her as a friend. Together, they made their way down to the field, Mira idly working her way through her toast. She was feeling better, probably because she'd managed about four hours of sleep, but it had been a while since she actually went with so little sleep.

"So, what happened last night?" Hermione asked after a while, and Mira was honestly surprised that she hadn't asked earlier.

"Nothing, just had long night," she said, trying to just shrug the whole thing off, but only look at Hermione told her the young witch wasn't convinced. "I went into the forest," she admitted with a sigh.

"The Forbidden Forest? Why?" Hermione knew all too well that Mira didn't like the place(just as she was also aware of her terrible sense of direction).

"Just thought I saw something there," Mira said, not wanting to tell her about Crookshanks and the black dog, not when she still wasn't sure about what was going on. "So I went in, got pretty far in and it took a while to find way out."

"When did you get back?"

"Couple hours ago," Mira shrugged. "Not that bad, I sleep enough most of time, first time I get back late," she added at Hermione's look. She didn't say anything else, and soon they were in the stands next to Ron and the rest of the Gryffindors, waiting for the match to start.

* * *

><p>The match had passed, Gryffindor had won the cup and Wood had said he could finally die in peace.<p>

All in all, things were going pretty well, with the exception of the exams that is. Everyone was flitting about trying to cram as much information as they could into their overworked brains. It was Summer, the sun was shining and the grounds looked as inviting as ever, but the whole of Hogwarts was stuck inside. Mira thought it was a shame, but she still stayed inside with the others as they studied. Most of the time, she helped Hermione keep from going insane as she worked her way closer to a nervous breakdown with every moment that she spent studying. At the same time, she tried to convince Harry and Ron to do some work, but it was hard to make them do anything when she was avoiding studying just as much as them(it wasn't like she'd be kicked out if she didn't pass and she certainly didn't _need _to).

Most of the time, she fell asleep in a chair next to the others, the scratching of quills on parchment not really helping to keep her awake. It was probably thanks to this that she was completely unprepared for the exams. Transfiguration had been a challenge, Potions was as torturous as always, but she hadn't expected to do well and she was pretty damn sure Snape didn't expect much from her so she didn't bother fooling herself with hopes of passing. Herbology hadn't been too bad, it had been a bit calming, even if it was too hot to stand outside for too long, but her favorite exam had been the one Lupin had prepared.

He'd made a sort of obstacle course to test the students' skill in defending against the creatures they'd been studying, and Mira had to applaud his teaching style once more. It was a hell of a lot more helpful than a written exam. At least she could be sure Harry could defend himself pretty well when it came to the odd creatures of the Wizarding world, considering how well he'd done. Lastly, there was Divination, which was something neither of the boys were looking forward to. Mira was glad she hadn't taken the class, it seemed like a waste of time. Not having anything better to do, and with the exams finally out of the way, Mira decided to go out to the grounds for a while and enjoy the warm weather.

The grounds were nearly deserted, most of the students inside finishing their exams or celebrating. A couple had ventured out with the same intention as her, but she still managed to find a quiet spot to lay down on the grass and look up at the calm blue sky. She could hear the wind rustling between the trees of the forest, which lay just a small distance from where she was. It made her think of that night not long ago when she'd chased the black dog into the forest. Things had been pretty calm since then, but she wouldn't let her guard down. Things had a habit of happening when she least expected them, especially in the new world she had found herself in.

She wasn't sure how long she'd been there, but it was long enough that she began to nod off thanks to the warm sun and the cool wind. It was only the soft sound of something moving close by that drew her back into wakefulness. She sat up, looking around, her gaze pausing at Hagrid's cabin nearby, looking as cheery and welcoming as always. The forest stood before her, ominous and in stark contrast to the bright grounds of the school. She turned around, checking the space behind her and watched Crookshanks strut closer.

"Crookshanks," she said, reaching out a hand to pet the cat. "What are you doing out here?"

The cat let out a contented purr as she scratched behind its ears and then stared straight at her before trotting off towards the forest.

"Crookshanks, stay out of the forest!" she called, not knowing what kind of creatures could be in there. She didn't think a cat could take them on, though. "Come here," she tried again, standing as she watched the cat stop at the edge of the forest and turn back to her. There was something eerie about the way the cat looked at her, too clever, she thought. With a huff of annoyance, she walked over to where the cat was now sitting.

"Come, let's find Hermione," she was sure the young witch would be done with her exams by then. But the cat had other plans, as it darted away just as she got close enough to pick him up. Frustrated, she watched as it disappeared amongst the trees, a moment later, she heard the cat mewling and frowned. That cat was clever, more so than any cat she'd ever seen before and if it was acting strangely, it had to be for a reason.

_'Does it want me to follow it?' _she thought to herself. _'But why the forest? Is that dog in there?' _

That wasn't a comforting thought, as she didn't know what that animal was, but she didn't think that was what Crookshanks wanted. And then it hit her, the note she'd gotten a couple weeks back and the meeting that had never happened. The year was almost over, the students were going to leave soon and there was someone other than Black and Crookshanks prowling around in the forest. Someone she knew. With this realization, Mira glanced around and then hurried after the cat and into the forest.

* * *

><p>Harry's head was still replaying the strange words that Trelawney had spoken as he hurried into the common room. It was empty, no sign of Ron and Hermione, and even after checking the boy's dormitory, Harry couldn't find either of his friends. He went back out and searched the library, thinking maybe Hermione had dragged Ron there, but they were nowhere to be found. It was nearly an hour later when he found then, but before he could say anything, Hermione spoke, holding up a letter for him to take.<p>

"It's from Hagrid," she explained as Harry read. "He says he saw Mira go into the forest."

Harry gave her a questioning look because that wasn't all that weird for Mira.

"That was hours ago, Harry, and she still hasn't come back," and that was enough for them to decide that a trip to the forest was needed.

* * *

><p><strong>Hello everyone! Sorry for the ridiculously long wait, but life has a funny way of keeping us from the things we love and my life has gotten a lot more hectic as of late. I won't go into any personal matters, but I've had trouble getting to do some writing, and I don't just mean that in a 'I-couldn't-get-online' type of way. Anyways, hope you've enjoyed this as we near the end of the first year(for Mira at least).<strong>

**As always, please review if you get the chance, and thank you all for the reviews the adds and the alerts, and most of all, for taking the time to read my humble attempts at writing. I will do my best to update sooner this time around.**


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